It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all
by Fire.fight.fun
Summary: After the hollow separates the Mikaelson family, Klaus is confronted with someone from his past, who changes everything for him.
1. Chapter 1

Kol's POV Chapter 1:

The Roads were dark when I approached the house. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore welcomed me. It was private and secluded and right on the Atlantic Ocean. As I pulled into the garage, I listened for them inside. I heard low breathes coming from the bedroom and I heard the sound of a rocking chair on the deck. As I walked into the house, I tried to hold myself together. The hollow lives within me now and it churned to be let free. Davina slept in the room soundly. I kissed her forehead and made my way to the deck that overlooked the ocean. She sat there staring off into the water, stirring her tea.

"How was the trip?" she told me as I approached and sat down.

"It was long and lonely, but I couldn't take Davina with me to that place, she's finally free." I told her.

"She tried to stay up and wait, but I knew you would be late." She told me. After a brief paused she asked. "Is it done then?" She wore a grim face. She was against my plan to help my family. She didn't want us to risk that kind of evil within us.

"Hope is safe." I told her. She turned away from me.

"You are all fools." She muttered.

"What choice did we have?! It was killing my niece." I told her. My temper took her by surprise and she became calm.

"I'm sorry." She said. "It can't be easy to be apart from your family, when you're all finally getting along." She told me.

"Our separation is worth it, if Hope can stay safe and have a normal childhood." I said.

"And Niklaus loses everything." She whispered.

"Nik's resilient, he'll be okay." I lied to her. I was honestly worried about my brother's sanity but I knew where this was going.

"Maybe I could help him." My head snapped up and I was shaking my head before she finished her sentence.

"They think you've been dead for four hundred years, sweetheart. They are forced to start anew. They have nothing now and they would not hesitate to kill you again." I told her.

"Your siblings can't go near him without helping the hollow. They will never know."

"He will know that something happened. If you go to him and if he finds out the truth about what they did. He will go confront them. And then all of this." I pointed at myself. ", will have been for nothing." She stared at me.

"It's not right Kol; I spent so many years without him, emotionless. I'm finally in a good place, where I have the ability to help him, and I can't." She told me.

"The love that you and my brother shared was grand, I remember, but its run its course. Let it be. In the end it would only hurt him more than he's already hurting." I told her. She nodded and wiped the tears away and started staring back at the ocean. I sat with her in silence. I thought about how we'd met her so long ago.

New Orleans PAST

"Nik we're missing the entire party." I told him. He rummaged through the streets, searching for something.

"Stop whining and use your senses. Do you smell that? A lot of blood, and since the witches are protecting the compound and all our vampire allies are there, we have to find who's the cause of all this." He explained. The smell grew stronger and I grew hungry. We ended on the steps of a church. His body was that of a human, but it had been deformed. There were deep gouges all over his body, but he seemed to be empty of any blood. His skin gripped to the bone and he looked depleted of air. His blood dripped down the stairs and into the street.

"It was probably a werewolf. Who else could leave marks like this and spill no much blood?" I told him.

"Do you hear that?" I shook my head. "Listen." He said. I tried to hear what he heard, but it was impossible. He started walking towards the compound blindly. I followed him, until we reached the doors. Standing outside, stood my some of my closest friends here. Annette, Lucretia, and Adrienne. They were witches. Niklaus walked to them and stopped.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be protecting the compound?"

"Linny told us to wait for you Kol." Annette said. Lucretia smiled and Adrienne watched Klaus. He watched her too.

"It's alright Nik, they're with me." I said. He stared at me and then back to Adrienne.

"Perhaps while you speak to Linny, your lovely friends could keep me company." he told me, staring up at me. The girls looked nervous.

"Nik."

"Oh relax Kol, it's a party. What is it you think is going to happen?" he told me curiously. "I promise to behave Brother." he said smiling. I sighed; I wasn't going to win this fight.

"Go on girls, have a drink. Kick up your feet." I told them. Annette stayed behind to talk.

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up." she said. Lucy walked unwillingly inside while Adrienne looked excited. I waited for them to disappear towards the music. Linny walked towards us as we waited. She looked nervous. I watched her carefully.

"What's happened?" I asked her.

"There is a darkness that haunts our city. I can sense it. It's unlike anything I've ever witnessed." She told me.

"We don't know what it wants, but we can't find out where it's come from." Annette interjected.

"If we don't find out soon, our Elders will have to perform a harvest to bring upon more power from the ancestors." Lonny explained.

"Why is that bad?" I asked.

"If the ancestors connect with the coven in that way once more, it will be the end of our alliance, and possibly the end of your family residing in New Orleans." Annette answered.

"We cannot fight the ancestors Kol." Linny said.

"I don't expect you to." I told them. "What do we need to do?"

"We have to find the darkness and you have to end it." Linny spoke.

"Why me?" I asked.

"You have to prove that you are on our side. If the elders see you help us, they may decide against the harvest." Annette answered me.

"Where do we begin?" I asked.

"We've cast a spell, to contain the darkness within the compound. Only we will be able to come and go." Linny said.

"You've trapped my family in there with this thing?!" I yelled and ran inside. The party continued through the troubles outside. People danced and drank and I watched them all carefully, panic stricken. Elijah laughed with the men in his inner circle. Rebekah danced with her gentlemen callers. When I found Klaus I was surprised to see the girls at ease. Lucy swayed to the music and Adrienne and Klaus were sitting next to each other talking.

"What a tragedy it must be like to live forever." She told him.

"Tragedy? I have walked this earth for nearly 600 hundred years. I've traveled the world, seen countless wonders. Are you telling me that if given the opportunity you would not want immortality?" He asked her.

"You can either be a vampire or a witch. You cannot be both sweetheart. So I choose my magic." She quipped. They laughed.

"Well I see you've been having a good time." I said. They looked up at me and Adrienne nodded.

"Yes you've hidden away quite a treasure, Kol." Klaus said. I nodded. Lucy came to me and took my hand.

"Dance with me Kol." She begged. I looked back at my brother who waved me forward.

"Go on we have quite a discussion ahead of us." he said to me. I followed Lucy out to the dance floor, but I listened in on them. It made me nervous that they were alone.

"You are quite an interesting creature." He told her.

"You have no idea." She said. "I've wanted to meet you for a while." She told him.

"And what has taken you so long." He asked her.

"The other witches say you're dangerous and badly tempered. I was told to stay away." She confessed.

"Why didn't you heed their warning?" He asked.

"I'm not afraid of you." She said.

"Really and why not? Most people do." He said.

"I am not most people and I see right through you."

"What do you see?" He asked.

"You're misunderstood. I see great power within you." I stopped dancing and walled back. "There's a beast that wants to be let free." She said.

When I walked in they were staring into each other's eyes.

"What did you tell her?!" He said to me. "Sharing family secrets with your witch friends?! How about I kill them all and bury a dagger in your heart!" He yelled.

"I told her nothing!" I said. Elijah appeared and then Rebekah.

"We have guests Niklaus, relax." He said, but he didn't instead he grabbed Adrienne and pushed her against the wall. His hand gripped her throat. Her smile never disappeared.

"What else has my brother told you?" He asked her through his teeth.

"All this anger within you is your werewolf half trying to come out." She spoke. "Kol has told me nothing." She said.

"Let her go Nik!" I yelled. Lucy who was beside me ran out, probably to get the others. "Now Klaus."

"Leave her Nik; we don't need a war with the witches." Rebekah said, but then he was thrown from Adrienne's body. She stood still and raised a hand.

"I am not your average witch." She said. Klaus stood and took a step towards her. "I was offering you an alliance, but I can see now that you are not ready." She said. "I will be leaving now." She told them.

"No you're not." He replied and lunged onto her. What happened next astounded me to no end. As Niklaus attempted to drain her, she plunged her fingers into his back and a glow came from within him. He pulled back in agony and she stood still. I watched as her wounds healed themselves and she looked up at me.

"Adrienne?" I called out. Rebekah knelt by Klaus side and Elijah stared at her.

"What are you?" He asked her.

"I can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. The choice is yours." She told them and turned to walk out as the girls beckoned her. I watched her leave and I watched Klaus stay paralyzed in pain until she left. It was an amazing sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Kol's POV Chapter 2:

Three nights had passed since I saw Adrienne take down Klaus. It took him a full day to heal completely and he was livid. I had betrayed him according to his twisted mind. I tried to explain that she could see into the mind of others. He searched for her again and again. He tried to find family to torture. She was an orphan taken care of by all the witches of New Orleans. She had disappeared and no one knew how to find her. I begged Annette to help me, but she was bound to her sister witch.

"Why are you so hell bent on making me miserable?" I asked him one morning.

"This is coming from my traitorous brother?" He replied.

"I told her nothing of your past. She was an ally Nik. They were the ones that could have helped us during our time here." I told him. "And now thanks to you, the witches are angry."

"Do you think I care about your precious witches?" He asked me. "Say your little friend starts blabbing to strangers of the vampire werewolf hybrid and Mikael finds us. Then what are we supposed to do?!" He asked.

"Perhaps if you'd listened to her, she could have helped us finally kill him!" I told him. He sat looking at me and then at the ground. I felt a sharp pull and decided to follow it. I wandered through the streets until I reached the church. Inside the attic, I found her.

"I didn't think my call would reach you." She said rushing towards me.

"Would you like to explain what the he'll that was?" She stopped. "My brother is an evil bastard, who now wants you dead and me daggered."

"I didn't think he'd react that way, but when I had the vision, I knew I had finally collected enough power." She explained. I stared at her confused.

"Collected?" I looked at her and took a step back. "You're the darkness?" I asked.

"I thought you realized that once you saw me take your brother."

"Adrienne what have you done?"

"I can't belong to this coven Kol. Witches aren't meant to be anchored to one place by forces in the afterlife. Especially not by one so full of lies and deceit." She told me.

"I don't understand. I have been collecting life forces for years. It keeps me strong. If I can collect just a little while longer than I can rid myself of my ties to New Orleans and finally leave." She said.

"You're literally draining the life out of people?"

"Don't judge me. I've seen you kill countless people without any remorse." She argued.

"I am a vampire." I countered. "What vision did you see of my brother?" She stepped towards me.

"I saw me breaking his curse without the doppelganger and then I saw him change me and I found a way to keep my magic." She told me. "Don't you see Kol? If I have the power to help your brother and remain with magic after death, I can give you what you always wanted. Your powers back." She told me. I stood contemplating.

"Why bother with my brother?" I asked.

"I need all the Mikaelsons. I need protection from the witches. They are close to figuring it out. If they do they will kill me. If they do the Harvest they will gain the power to kill us all." She warned. "I need you to convince your brother to trust me. If you do everything will come true." She begged.

"You wounded his pride. It's not that easy."

"Try Kol. Tell him what I'm offering." She said.

"And you'd just turn your back on the spirits?"

"After what they've done? They turned their backs on me first." She said grimly.

I went back to Niklaus to talk. I had to try. If I could get magic back then they would not be able to continue to throw me in a box when they felt like it. He sat at the head of the table writing.

"Nik." I said.

"Come to accuse me of something brother?" He asked.

"I've come to make you an offer." He sat waiting. "I found Adrienne; she wants to help us with our problems in exchange for her protection from the other witches."

"And what does she offer?" He asked.

"She will break your curse and rid us of Mikael." I told him.

"How? The line ended with Katerina. We do not have the moonstone."

"She doesn't need it. She is the thing we've been hunting."

"She left that man in the street that way?" He asked. "Why should I trust her? Why should I trust you for that matter?"

"It would be for the interest of breaking your curse. She can make you whole." I said.

"What does she get out of it?" He asked.

"In helping you, and getting our protection, she can become stronger And break free of the ancestral magic.' I told him.

"So we'd be creating a new enemy with the power to end our life?" He said.

"No."

"How am I supposed to trust her, if she can't even show her face?" I looked at him.

"Fine, I will go get her, but you have to give me your word that she will not be harmed." He smiled at me.

"You have my word brother. Bring the little witch home." He said. I left feeling uneasy. I walked slowly to the church. She waited for me.

"He wants to see you in person, but it's probably a trap." I explained.

"Your brother can do me no harm Kol, relax." She said. "Let's go, it's not safe for me here anymore." She said. "Annette and Linny have been searching for me and getting closer by the second." She said.

"Do they know?" I asked her as she gathered her things.

"No, I don't fully trust them. They are the next chosen to complete the Harvest. They would not help me or risk their positions in the coven." She said. We walked in silence, scurrying about where she could. We went almost unnoticed until we reached the compound.

"Go inside, I'll be right there." I told her. Annette walked up to me, looking past me. Her eyes were on the cloaked girl walking into the compound.

"Have you found her?" she asked me. "Is that her? Is she alright?" she threw question after question.

"I can't have this conversation now Annette. Go home and wait for my call." I told her. She looked up at me surprise.

"What is she doing in your home? Doesn't she know your brother will kill her?" I pulled her into the alley of the house.

"I need you to go home Annette. You being here complicate everything. I will keep Adrienne safe. I will find you later, now go." I told her.

"She's like my sister Kol, why does she do this?" she cried.

"I'll explain later, but please go." She nodded and walked away towards her home. When I walked inside, she stood by the door. "Perhaps you can seal the compound from prying ears." She nodded and raised her hands whispering softly. A small gleamed from every crevice of the home and disappeared.

"Done." She told me, when we turned towards the stairs to find Nik, he appeared at the top.

"I didn't believe you would actually come." He told her.

"Kol said you needed to see me in person, to believe what I was capable of." She responded. He smiled and made his way down the steps. We stepped back.

"Well then, amaze us." Rebekah and Elijah sat behind us, watching her. Adrienne nodded and closed her eyes. She raised her hands and closed her eyes. The perfectly sunny day, disappeared and in its place the dark clouds swirled. The rain poured down into the compound and the wind blew harshly. As suddenly as it had come it disappeared. Then the snow came. The little flakes fell from the sky slanted, but melted where it landed. Finally when she opened her eyes she became serious. Niklaus stared at her. "Impressive." He said.

"Would you like to see my vision?" she asked him. Nik looked at me.

"What do you need?" I asked her.

"A drop of blood, mine." She said. She raised her wrist to him and waited. He raised his eyebrow. "Be serious, there has to be a connection to see what I see." She told him. He raised her hand to his lips and bit slightly and then his eyes glossed over and turned white.

"Niklaus!" Rebekah cried out. "Are you alright? Is she hurting you?" she asked him.

"No! It's incredible." He managed to whisper; he dropped her hand and took a step back.

"What did she show you?" Elijah managed to ask. I tried to feed her my blood to heal her, but she refused.

"She showed me my future." He smiled at her. "We've added a new member to the household. From now on this witch is under our protection." He told them. My mouth fell open as did Rebekah's. I looked at me and she bowed slightly.

"Kol, show her to the bedroom at the end of the hall upstairs." He said. I nodded and took her hand. My siblings waited for us to get to the top of the stairs to start to object.

"Are you mad? Letting her stay here would cause unnecessary issues with the witches. "Rebekah whispered.

"We could forget living in peace." Elijah told him.

"You didn't see. You don't know what she is capable of. Imagine a world where we never have to run again. One where I don't need to track down a doppelganger or a silly moonstone. To break my curse and strike true fear in our enemies."

"Not all of us have the same problems Nik. What about that little boy you promised to keep safe?" Rebekah said. We reached the end of the hall and I opened the door. It was a room gone unused and meant to be Finn's if he was ever awakened.

"Are you alright?" I said lifting her arm towards me. His bite was almost healed. I stared at her.

"You are something else." I told her.

"You have no idea." She smiled.

"I guess congratulations are in order. You won the beast." I told her. She smiled.

"One thing at a time, for tonight we are safe. But soon the war will begin." She told me staring out the window. The others stood across the way staring up at the window. Linny's eyes squinted in anger and Annette took Lucy's hand. It may have already started.


	3. Chapter 3

Kol's POV Chapter 3:

In the months that followed the city began to war. The wolves were driven to the far sides of the Bayou. The vampires we'd created fell in line and joined us, loyally. There was something about being a part of the winning team. The witches found out the hard way what Adrienne was up to, but they didn't stand a chance. Adrienne was lethal alone, but when teamed up with us, she was merciless. They came for her, but there was no stopping us. When they decided to complete the Harvest she gave us the answer. We placed their elders in a sleeping curse using dark objects. Without Elders they could not perform the rituals. The Witches were at a standstill. They did not have enough magic to hurt us, and we were an army. Soon more witches joined our side. Lucy, Annette, and Linny stood at the helm of the fight. It was odd how the dynamic in the quarter changed. The more power that Klaus controlled, the closer he grew to Adrienne. The more powerful Klaus became, the stronger she was. She took more souls without having to hide in the shadows and her magic showed through. She cast protection spells on all of us and our home. It was like any other day, when I made a connection, I didn't know existed. Niklaus was drinking with his followers when she came out of her bedroom reading a book. Niklaus stopped mid-sentence to watch her, and then left his posy behind to go be with her. They sat on the balcony talking for hours. I came and went, but they never stopped. I didn't know how I felt about it, but it was not my place. Still it didn't stop me from asking.

"What's happened between you and my brother?" I asked her at breakfast. The house was empty, except for the inner circle of the quarter. Marcel was out with Niklaus.

"What do you mean?" she asked me smiling. "I am the witch of the Original family, its business." She told me.

"Is it really? And is it business when you discuss travelling with him? Or is it business when he draws you?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"I have a connection to this family. You are my friend, as is your brother." She said. "We don't just talk about magic Kol." She told me.

"I've known you longer Adrienne." I told her.

"My point exactly." She responded. "Your brother and I have an unspoken connection. I understand what he goes through. It's kinship." She explained. "Don't worry so much." She told me. But I didn't forget. I always kept a careful ear out when they were together. In our lives none of my siblings, including myself, ever had a lasting relationship. It was not in the cards. In the coming months an eerie calm began. Tensions were tight. Klaus took on a new darkness as he began to bring Adrienne more sacrifices, only it became a way to punish those who disappointed him rather than a way to gain strength to break the curse. Rebekah grew jealous of the time he spent with her and Elijah worried as always about Niklaus' soul.

"She's corrupted his very existence." Elijah muttered one night.

"How corrupted do you think he is? Half of the ideas are his." I spoke.

"She's making us more enemies than we need." Rebekah said. "Mikael will find us."

"We are protected from Mikael, thanks to her." I reminded them.

"This is not the life we meant to live here. This was supposed to be a new beginning Kol."

"What are you supposed to do about it? Nik wants her here." I started to argue, but was interrupted by the approach of Niklaus and Adrienne. We stood on the second floor, behind a pillar. They entered hand and hand laughing. When suddenly he reached down and kissed her lips. We sat in shock. She took his hand and led him to the stairs. We ran from there and outside the compound. I watched as they entered his bedroom and closed the door. Adrienne was going to lose in this, I could feel it. She was far too strong, but also far too young to realize what being with Klaus would mean. I was angry with him; I knew he did not feel for her. I cursed myself for letting this happen.

"Now it's even more complicated." Rebekah said. "He's sleeping with her."

"Whatever that was, it will not come in between us. Blood is thicker than water." Elijah said.

"What are we supposed to do?" she asked.

"The only thing we can do." Elijah paused adjusting his shirt. "We kill the witch." He said.

I didn't sleep that night. I waited all night for Klaus to leave with Marcel. Rebekah and Elijah hadn't returned since seeing the two of them together. As he left, I let myself into his bedroom and she sat up quickly when she saw me.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked me.

"That's hilarious, because I was about to ask you the same thing!" I screamed.

"Calm yourself Kol." She told her.

"This," I grabbed a handful of sheets. "Is not kinship Adrienne. What is it that you get out of this? Niklaus will never stay with you. He is with you for convenience; he needs you to continue to build his army. Are you that stupid?" I asked her.

"Mind your business. What's happening is between Niklaus and I." she sat up, "Now get out so that I can get dressed!" she yelled. I stepped outside. This conversation was far from over. When she came out she stalked past me and towards her bedroom. I grabbed her by her arm.

"Do not walk away from me. What were you thinking?" I asked her.

"Let me go." She told me. "Why are you acting this way? What is so wrong that we are together? Why is it so bad?!" she asked me. "Niklaus is kind to me, we share things that no one, not even you, understands. We are not afraid of the darkness, we are in love and this is exactly the reason we didn't tell anyone." She told me pulling her arm away from me.

"In love? Adrienne what delusion have you gotten yourself into? Klaus is incapable of love." I told her. "I'm trying to help you. You are the one that's going to get hurt in all this."

"You have no idea how much I want you to accept this. More than that I wish that my dearest and closest friend would be happy for me. I guess that's too much to ask of you." She said and walked into her room slamming her door. I left unable to keep my cool. I went to find Klaus, he would explain. I found him with Marcel in the town. I walked behind him while he spoke to Marcel about the rules of engagement. The ever doting father, quite the example for the boy.

"We need to speak Niklaus." I told him. He turned abruptly.

"Not now, I'm teaching Marcellus." He told me. "I'll see you back home." He told me.

"You will not dismiss me that easily." I told him. He looked at me and obviously saw something worth changing his plans.

"Go sit by the fountain Marcellus. Read the book we've just gotten. I'll be along shortly." He told him. Marcel hesitated but inevitably went to sit by the fountain. "What is it Kol?"

"What gives you the right to play with her emotions? She has done nothing but help us, and you treat her like any other conquest."

"What business is it of yours what I do? Tell me who are you to tell me who I can and cannot be with? Mind your place Kol." He told me.

"You have no idea how difficult I can make your life Nik. If you push me, I will. Leave her be." I threatened. "We are on the brink of getting everything we want, don't mess it up with your hormones." I told him. He hesitated in responding and then looked over at Marcel. "What is it?"

"What makes you think that she is anything like any other conquest? Am I incapable of true feelings Kol? Is that what you actually think of me?" he asked me sincerely.

"This from the brother who daggered me and threw me in a box?" I asked him.

"Be serious Kol. Adrienne is unlike anyone I've ever met." He told me.

"Why keep it a secret?" I asked him.

"Because love is a weakness. Everyone already wants to hurt us, if they knew that she is where my heart lies, they would use her to get to me. I won't take that risk, no matter how much power she possesses." I took a step back from him.

"What's happened to you?" I whispered.

"I love her, brother. If you believe anything from me, believe that." He told me. Before I could respond he started walking to Marcel and together they walked away. I stood there for a few minutes. I was attempting to wrap my head around the idea that my brother was in love, when someone tapped me from behind. Lucy stood there looking sad.

"Lucy." I said.

"Hello, Kol." She told me. "We don't see you around this side of town anymore." I looked up to realize that we were around the corner from the cemetery.

"I was just leaving." I told her.

"Why did you do this to us?" she asked me. My back was still turned to her when I answered.

"I didn't do it to you, I did it for me." I left and had too much on my mind to act normal. I pulled the first person I saw into an alley and ripped into their throat. I took a lot longer to make it home than I expected. Along the way, Elijah caught up to me.

"I've been waiting for you brother." He told me.

"Not now Elijah." I said walking passed him. He appeared in front of me. "What is it?" I asked.

"I'll need you to contact your old witches, we need a meeting." He said.

"For what?" I asked.

"Not your concern, I'll need the meeting soon." He said.

"Do your own bidding Elijah." I said to him. I walked into the compound where I saw Adrienne staring at me. Klaus stood across the way, stealing glances at her. I took a bottle and sat at the top of the steps. Rebekah came to me.

"You look miserable Brother." She told me.

"I've had better days." I told her.

"You've never been one to sulk." She told me. "Why don't you just give Elijah what he wants and we can return to normal?" I stared up at her.

"Normal for me is ripping through civilization or living in a box. I don't accept normal anymore."


	4. Chapter 4

Kol's POV Chapter 4:

The city began to crumble in the wake of the new power. Niklaus and Adrienne were becoming unbearable. The stronger their relationship became the more destruction they caused. Adrienne was consuming the life force at least once a day and her magic was tied to her emotions. The weather changed suddenly, creating a thunderstorm on a perfectly sunny day or dropping the temperature drastically. The winds would blow furiously when she was angered. Elijah and Rebekah grew more wary at their union. Niklaus finally confessed it to them and they put on concerned faces, but he was just as temperamental as she was. She made him stronger and more indestructible than we as originals were already. Fear struck through our enemies and slowly none remained. The girls did not attempt to reach our old friend anymore and I feared they had worse plans than we'd ever known. She walked with Marcel to his bedroom.

"Adrienne, may I speak with you?" I asked her frustrated. She turned towards me and smiled.

"After I put Marcellus to bed." She responded. He looked up at me in fear as always. I nodded. "Come little warrior." She took his hand and they walked inside closing the door behind them. I listened to her as she sang him to sleep and read him a story. Finally she came out and saw me waiting. "Rather impatient tonight aren't you?" she said. "What is it?" she asked me. I gestured for her to follow me and we walked into the street. She turned to Victor, a vampire guard we had. "Mind Marcellus, if anything happens to him I will hold you responsible." She told him and he nodded. We walked through the streets and people veered as we came towards them.

"Do you like what you do to people?" I asked her, seeing her smiling at their fear.

"Don't you?" she asked me. "Of course you do. Fear is stronger than almost any emotion." She explained.

"Don't you believe you have enough power to break away from the ancestors? I thought you did this to be able to leave this place." I told her.

"That was the start and I do have more than enough power to break away, but I'm not leaving just yet. I have not finished what I started." She told me.

"And what is that?" I asked her.

"That's for me to worry about Kol. Enjoy the freedom; your time will come soon." She told me and started to walk away. I turned back towards the house, too angry to follow her, when the sky lit up with bolts of lightning. I ran back towards where I'd left her, but she was nowhere to be found. An eerie feeling washed over me and I started to panic about her safety. Then everything went black.

My head hurt as I awoke, as I always felt after my neck was snapped. What was odd was that I awoke in my room, on my bed fully dressed. Who had brought me here? How long had it been? In one quick movement I stood and ran out of my door. Niklaus was pacing outside of my door.

"What's happened?" I asked. He stopped and looked at me. His face was pained but not tragic as I'd expected. "Where is Adrienne?" I asked.

"She's resting." He told me. His emotion changed abruptly to fury. "Someone tried to make their move." He told me. "I need you to find out whom. If I go, I will rip this city apart." He told me. I've never seen him this angry over anyone except our family. I nodded. "Bring them here where we can deal with it."

"Does she have any idea who did it?" I asked. He shook his head.

"She doesn't remember anything. It's frustrating." He told me.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"She's with Marcellus, perhaps in a while." He told me. I nodded with a new sense of obligation. When he walked away into his room I saw a glimpse of the scene. Marcel was curled up onto her side and she lay on his bed. As Niklaus walked inside she looked at him with the same pain in her eyes that he had. I walked away and into the streets. Elijah appeared.

"Where have you been?" he asked me. Elijah looked at me sharply.

"Someone broke my neck last night while Adrienne was attacked." I said. He stared past me.

"We have many enemies. How will you find out who the perpetrator is?" he asked calmly.

"I guess I'll start with the witches." I told him. He nodded. Before he could wrap me in whatever conversation he wanted to have, I left. I wanted to see Linny but I thought against it. She was not happy with me and it would lead to a fight. Instead I headed to Annette's hang out and hoped she was alone. Hopefully her feelings for me would thaw out if I could just speak to her. When I arrived at the water's edge I felt like luck was on my side. She sat on the rock looking out into the water alone. I approached her slowly. When she heard me and turned her hand lifted towards us.

"Leave me be Kol." She told me. She wipes away the tears she cried.

"Are you upset because you failed or because you didn't?" she looked at me again.

"I don't know what you're babbling about, but I want to be left alone. I broke no rules. Leave me." She told me.

"Annette, I need to know who's trying to hurt us. You know as well as I do that if someone tries to harm her, she has the power to destroy the entire city." She stood up and walked towards me slowly.

"The city is already destroyed, and it was ruined by my sister. She chose your family over ours. I don't know who's trying to hurt your family, but you brought this on yourself." She said attempting to walk away. I appeared in front of her.

"If they find out you or any other witch had anything to do with it, I cannot save you!" I yelled.

"Perhaps you should look in your glass house, before you throw any stones." She told me. I stared at her and she rolled her eyes. "Your siblings have been awfully friendly to Linette lately, wonder why they would be." she told me. I let her leave this time and sat down. It had been months since Elijah's comments. I thought they'd moved past this. My fears were proven true when Rebekah met up with me on my way from the water. She walked along side me, smiling to me.

"Our family is attacked and you have the audacity to smile." I said.

"Our family was not attacked, the help was." She said.

"Will you be telling Nik that you feel this way or should I?" I asked her. She stopped serious now.

"She's not good for him Kol. She will finish destroying his soul." She told me.

"It is none of your business who he chooses to love." I told her.

"It affects this entire family. The darkness that surrounds them has consequences, and I don't know about you, but I would not like to pay them."

"Leave me alone Rebekah." I told her trying to get away from her.

"I'm sorry brother, I'm afraid that's not possible." She told me and plunged a stake into my heart. I fell in agony. It was a much quicker death than I expected and of course I wasn't dead, but for her to do this they must have done something far worse than I could ever imagine.

I awoke in the cellar of my home, bound to the earth. Elijah stood there watching me. He was staring at the ground next to me. I followed his stare weakly. Klaus lay unconscious on the ground.

"What are you doing?" I asked weakly. He looked down to me.

"Freeing our family once and for all." He told me.

"Where is Adrienne?" I managed to say.

"I imagine burning for her sins by now." He said. I stared up at him.

"Niklaus wake up! Dammit Wake up!" I yelled.

"He's under a very strong spell. He will not wake until it's too late." He told me.

"He will kill you for this." He smiled at me.

"Niklaus will never know of my involvement in this. The witches will take the blame, wipe your mind. All will be set in place as it should be. As it is I should be going. I hear executions among witches are unmissable." He said taking Niklaus in this arms and walking up the stairs. As soon as I knew he was gone I used all my strength to release myself from the chains. I pulled and pushed and thrashed until I was free. I ran as fast as my legs could. I felt weak. Obviously a spell. I made it to the cemetery. The only ancient place left in the city with power. They surrounded the pyre. Inside the mausoleum burned something deeply. Linny approached the gate and smiled at me.

"Where is she?" I asked. She laughed and then turned towards the burning and back to me.

"She burns in the eternal flame of the ancestors." I tried to grab her, but she was inside the protection of the ancestors. "She will never hurt anyone again." She told me. Annette and Lucy cried in the corner of onlookers. I noticed them once Linny had left. I yelled for them, until they turned.

"Stop this. Please!" I begged. "Help her." They looked at me witch tears streaming down their faces. Annette walked up to the gate.

"We cannot, the Elders have been awakened. They will not let us intervene." She said walking away from me, Lucy moved towards a less crowded part of the gate and I followed.

"We cannot intervene, but I can let you in. When she wakes she will be trapped in the fire forever. Her soul will be trapped forever. Don't let her suffer for this." She took my hand and closed her eyes and chanted in whispers. Within a minute I was able to pass the protection of this place. She moved me behind the graves and away from the crowd. "Get her out, let her soul rest." She told me. You must replace her body." She whispered.

"Who am I supposed to damn?" I asked her.

"Why don't you damn one of your siblings? They sealed her fate this way. They orchestrated all of this. Adrienne was hurt by this coven since her birth; she didn't deserve to suffer at their hand for all eternity." She told me.

"My siblings? Rebekah and Elijah?!" I raised my voice.

"Just get her out of here Kol, before she is trapped." She told me. I saw the crowd gathered in front of the pyre, but no one stood inside the mausoleum where she burned. Her body was ravaged and blackened. With quickness I pulled an unsuspecting witch into the shadows and snapped their neck. Her body clung to the spell of the fire, but I managed to pull her free and I ran with her. I caught a glimpse of Lucy. She nodded in appreciation. I ran through the wooded area until we came across a clearing. I laid her down and stepped back. Her skin was burned past recognition. I didn't agree with what she was doing, but I would never wish this for her. I felt it all at once and it knocked me to my knees. I let the tears stream down my face. I felt for my friend, I felt the loss, I felt guilt for not knowing it was happening. My heart sank for my brother who would be sent into a rage and burn the city down along with its inhabitants. The least I could do was to give him a chance to say goodbye. I put my hand on hers and the ash moved away without a mark. Looking down surprised I began to wipe away all the dirt. Her skin was fine. I felt for her heart, but it was dead as she was. Her skin was cold, but she had not burned. I stood up to see her there. I decided to let my brother come and pay his respects when she took an exaggerated breath. I ran to her and hugged her closely.

"Kol?" she asked. "Where am I? What's happened?" she started touching her skin and patting it all over. "I was on fire, how did you get me out?" she asked.

"You were dead. Adrienne how did you do it? Did you cast a spell?" I asked her. She thought back, concentrating hard on something. "What is it?" I asked when her face fell. She lifted her hand towards the trees around us, but they remained still. She sat up and dug her fingers into the earth.

"I can't feel it." She cried. "It's all gone!" she yelled.

"You're in transition?" I asked, but we knew the answer.


	5. Chapter 5

Kol's POV Chapter 5:

I knew how this had happened. Klaus healed her with his blood. It had not left her system when the witches attacked. A person could either be a witch or a vampire. Nature needed a balance and would not allow one to be both. That was my greatest dilemma in life. I stared up at her as she slammed into the trees and cried.

"Damn them all to the fiery depths of hell." She spit. "I will kill them all!" she said. I held her in place.

"Calm yourself. If you go back, they will realize that you are still alive. You are much more vulnerable to their powers now. You can be killed. Speaking of, you have to feed to complete the transition." I told her. "Stay here, I will bring you someone."

"If they think I'm dead, does that mean that so does he?" she whispered. I nodded. "I have to go to him." She told me.

"No, I will bring him to you; we can't risk anyone finding out that you live." I told her.

"But I will be in the compound; the witches don't go there anymore. I will be safe." She told me.

"No Adrienne. I've found that all of this happened with Elijah and Rebekah's help." I told her. "They wanted you dead and here you are. If they know, they may try again." I told her. Her hand flew up to her heart.

"They hate me so much? They would betray their own brother?" she asked. "This will kill him." She told me. She sat back and thought again. "We can't tell him." She said. "He can never know that they did this to him." She said.

"No they can't get away with this."

"Kol, family is everything to him. If he finds out that they helped with killing the person he loves, there will be no saving your family. Promise me you will not tell him."

"How are you going to live with this forever?" I asked her.

"By leaving and never coming back." She said.

"No, he needs to know that you are not dead." I told her.

"No, he needs for his family to finally be there for him." She cried. "Please Kol; promise me that you will help him. Keep him safe, I trust you." She told me. "For now, please find me someone, I am so hungry." She told me. "I'm alright please." I stood up and left to find the first person. When I returned she was very still. It was eerie. She did not move as I approached. I bit into the girl's wrist and lifted it to her mouth. She drank willingly and when the transformation was complete she bit into the girl's neck and ripped her apart. When she stood she turned away and wiped her mouth.

"Adrienne? How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"I need you to do something for me." She told me, still turning away from me. "I need you to tell Niklaus that I loved him more than I ever imagined possible. That he was my home and that for this last year I was truly happy thanks to him." She told me.

"I will, but I really think you should give him the opportunity to leave with you." I told her.

"Tell Marcellus that he was important to me as well. That someday my little warrior will grow to be the strongest man and no one will ever be able to harm him. Tell him that I loved him like the son I did not get to have." She told me.

"Adrienne, are you listening to me?" I turned her towards me.

"Promise me." She said. I nodded.

"Of course, but you can tell them yourself. I can get them both and you can go live your lives." I told her.

"No, I know what I have to do so that the pain of leaving doesn't kill me." She hugged me.

"No you can't just turn it off." I said. I tried to compel her.

"I have no magic, and a long list of people who want me dead. Without my family, I am nothing." She said and pushed me away. Her eyes were closed and I knew she was turning off her humanity.

"No! Adrienne does not do this!" I yelled, but when her eyes opened she was a different person. I ran to her with every intention of compelling her back to us. "Turn it on." I told her. She smiled. "Turn it on!" I screamed.

"I guess that little trick still doesn't work on me." She laughed and sent me flying into the trees. When I turned back she was gone. I tried to run after her, but she was gone in more ways than one. I could tell Klaus, but Adrienne was right. If he knew about Elijah and Rebekah's indiscretions he would never forgive them. I made my way back to the compound. Lucy, Annette and Linny waited there for me. Elijah and Rebekah sat behind them.

"Welcome home brother." Rebekah said.

"It's time for the witches to tie up loose ends." Elijah said. "Don't make this difficult." He said. Others waited for me. In the inner circle. "Do your worst girls." He said. Lucy walked up to me before the others and placed one hand on my face and the other on my chest. Linny and Annette followed suit and walked over to the other two. She did nothing to me. Her chanting did nothing to me, because she didn't want it to. But the message was clear, I was to pretend. I blinked repeatedly as the others did.

"What's happened? What are you doing here?" I asked Lucy, while she walked back to the others.

"They are helping us; you were hit with a very powerful spell. The Elders escaped and came for us." I looked at him.

"What? How did that happen?" I asked. He shrugged. "Where are Nik and Adrienne?" they looked at each other.

"Niklaus is there." He pointed to the hallway, where Nik laid. "But I'm afraid the Elders killed Adrienne." He said.

"What?" Marcellus came out of his bedroom. "She's dead?" we all turned to face him. Rebekah appeared at his side.

"It's alright; everything is going to be alright." Rebekah spouted, but tears spilled down his cheeks. "Come you need your rest." Rebekah pulled on his arm, but he fought against her.

"You told me you would keep her safe!" he yelled and we all turned back to realize that Klaus stood looking at us all. Rebekah managed to pull Marcel into the room and keep him there.

"Where is she?" he said.

"Calm yourself Niklaus." Elijah spoke.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He yelled.

"The witches took her to the cemetery, but-"he had disappeared before Elijah finished his sentence and we all ran after him. When we caught up to him he was that of fury. He threw branches at the witches who gathered to watch her burn. They chanted repelling his attempts. When I touched his shoulder he let himself fall to his knees and let out a painful scream. The tears streamed down his face and his sobs broke everything inside me.

"I fed her my blood, she'll come back." He said and I didn't answer.

"Niklaus, the flame is eternal, it can never be extinguished. Her punishment for turning her back on her coven is to burn for always." He explained. He looked up at me and gripped my arm.

"How did this happen?! She had the power of a thousand witches! She had the Original family! How did this happen?" he screamed. "How did they get to her?!" he said to me.

"I don't know, I can't remember." I told him. "I think we were under a spell." I told him gritting my teeth. Linny broke away from the others and came to the entrance.

"There is nothing here for you anymore. Leave this place, now." She said. It happened faster than I had anticipated. First she was smugly speaking and then Niklaus was impaling her with an iron bar he pulled from the gate. She was pulled to our side before a single witch could blink.

"Your coven will live to regret taking her from me." He whispered to her. "You will not get the opportunity to regret it." He plunged his hand into her heart and ripped it from her chest. He stood and faced us, then walked past us. Anger and fury in his eyes, but a glimmer of agonizing pain.

PRESENT DAY

She continued to stare out into the ocean. The waves crashed more frequently. I watched her for a moment.

"I never got the chance to tell either of them what you said." I told her. She looked up at me.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Klaus daggered me again soon after he thought you died that I never got to tell him what you told me. He never left me alone with Marcel to tell him either. I thought about telling him again this time around, but so much has changed." I told her. She nodded.

"It wouldn't have made a difference." She told me. And after a minute she stood up. "I am going to bed. See you in the morning."

"Good Night." I watched her leave, but sat there for a few more minutes. This was my life and I was going to protect it no matter what. Eventually I went to bed. Davina pulled herself into my arms and I felt at peace. It wasn't until the late morning that the uneasiness crept in. The hollow awoke me, it stirred again. Davina came to me and she looked worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"I feel it." I told her. She took my hand in hers and a paper caught between us. "What is this?" she stood again and held it out to me.

"Adrienne's gone." She told me. I opened the paper and recognized her handwriting.

"Dammit!" I yelled. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail. "Don't do this. It's too dangerous." I said and hung up.

"What are we going to do?" Davina asked me.

"We can't do anything. If we go after her, we will be bringing the hollow together. If we call my siblings, they will kill her and we will bring the hollow together. We have to keep trying to reach her and hope that she changes her mind." I told her. She hugged me tightly. "It's alright, everything will be alright love." I told her, not honestly believing it myself.


	6. Chapter 6

Klaus' POV Chapter 6:

I nearly fell apart twice today and it's only 10 in the morning. New York City has not changed much since my last time here. There are more buildings and more people, but the city's essence remained the same. This was my latest stop. Within the last three weeks I had managed to continue to move. My anticipated location would be somewhere in Europe. I hadn't decided where yet. My phone buzzed incessantly, I answered and calmed when I heard Kol's voice.

"Hello brother." I answered. "Do you miss me already?" I asked, out of all my siblings, Kol is the least that calls.

"You wish, Nik. No I'm just calling to see how you're doing. Have you lost your mind yet?" I laughed without feeling.

"Not quite, but almost." I told him. "Fairing in the big apple." I explained.

"The city that never sleeps, you'll fit right in." he responded. "If you need anything, just call Nik." He told me.

"I will, take care of yourself brother." I told him and hung up. The part that hurt the most, aside from never seeing my daughter again, was that I didn't have my family anymore. We weren't exactly the closest siblings in existence, but there was something about being without them now. I felt vulnerable. I missed my daughter. It was not enough to see hear her voice from time to time. I was surprised at myself. I hadn't turned to the darkness. I hadn't let the hollow win inside me. I kept myself at bay without Hope or Elijah. I was determined not to need saving. I walked into the door of a Starbucks, as I had for the last few days, when she caught my eye. A woman stood just outside the glass, hailing a taxi. When she turned her head, I swore she looked just like Adrienne. Either I had found some long lost relative or my mind was finally snapping from ware. If anything I should be seeing Hope's face. That would make sense, but then again I heard my daughter every step I took. I tried to be the type of father she could be proud of. I decided to ignore my obvious hallucination, placed my order and walked back to the loft. There as I sat, I thought about Adrienne. I tried not to as this was the second most painful thing I'd endured. I let my mind take me to when I still had her in my life.

NEW ORLEANS PAST

She stood in front of me overly confident in my opinion. I wanted nothing more than to end her life, and I would, but first I had to see if she could actually break my curse.

"Would you like to see my vision?" she asked me and I stared at her

"What do you need?" Kol asked her.

"A drop of blood, mine." She said. She gave me her wrist and I was surprised. It would be too easy now to kill her. "Be serious, there has to be a connection to see what I see." She answered my thoughts. I took her hand and bit down. When I did I began to see images of my life pass it shocked me. First was our old life when we were human. Next our transformation. My emptiness echoed inside me. The emptiness came from never being whole with my true lineage. Finally I saw Adrienne at my side releasing me from the curse and I saw myself create an army. Then to add to the incredible vision she showed me how I slay my father.

"Niklaus!" Rebekah cried out. "Are you alright? Is she hurting you?" she asked me.

"No! It's incredible." I tried to say, but it came out in a whisper. I let her hand drop and took a step back. She smiled at me and I thought I saw a little smugness in her too. It intrigued me.

"What did she show you?" Elijah asked me. Kol pulled her back behind him.

"Let me heal you." He whispered, but she shook her head. She covered her wrist and the wound healed on its own. I stared at her in amazement.

"She showed me my future." I smiled at her. "We've added a new member to the household. From now on this witch is under our protection." I told them, but my eyes never left hers. She bowed slightly. "Kol, show her to the bedroom at the end of the hall upstairs." I told him. He took her hand. I was lighter than I ever felt. She had brought hope that I thought was gone forever.

"Are you mad? Letting her stay here would cause unnecessary issues with the witches." Rebekah tried to whisper, while grabbing my arm. I turned towards her.

"We could forget living in peace." Elijah told me. I sighed, always a fight.

"You didn't see. You don't know what she is capable of. Imagine a world where we never have to run again. One where I don't need to track down a doppelganger or a silly moonstone to break my curse. And strike true fear in our enemies."

"Not all of us have that same problem Nik. What about the little boy you promised to keep safe?" Rebekah said to me.

"What of him? Marcellus will be safe, even more so now with a witch as powerful as she living here." I thwarted her reasoning. "Whether you agree or not she is staying here and if any harm comes to her, before I get what was promised, than someone will have hell to pay." I told them as I walked off to fetch Marcellus. The following day when I saw her again, she was coming out of her room, her head in a book.

"Good Morning." I told her from behind her, she jumped. When she saw it was me, she smiled.

"Good Morning." she told me.

"I have a question for you." I said to her as we walked down to the fountain.

"Of course." She said.

"How do you plan on breaking my curse exactly?" she smiled up at me and shook her head.

"First I plan to obtain more power and once I've harnessed enough I will use the power of the elements to break the ties of the curse, which should break the curse." She told me.

"How do you plan to obtain more power?" I asked her.

"With your help, of course." She told me. "I need souls and I can go after someone alone, under specific circumstances. In the event of the man by the church, it was luck. If I am out there alone, I am vulnerable during that time, my guard is down." She explained.

"So we are your body guards while you kill the entire city?" I asked her almost offended.

"Of course not, I am not a fool, Klaus. I told you, I will be your greatest ally. What is it that you want from New Orleans?" she asked me.

"I want to rule." I told her honestly.

"Then let's make that happen together. What is standing in your way?" she asked me. I loved that I could talk strategy with someone without them getting frightened about how I get results.

"The wolves terrorize my vampires on the full moon, but when they are human we don't know who they are." I told her. "The witches are out of control." I smiled at her. "I need loyal vampires at my side." I said.

"I have a spell for the wolves." She flipped open her book and handed it to me. "It's a barrier spell. We can keep them in a specific location outside of the quarter." She told me.

"Brilliant." I exhaled.

"The witches won't be a problem if we can work together. I have my own form of revenge for them, but they need to be desperate for their guard to be let down." She told me. "They owe me a lot more, than what I'll take." Her anger towards them made me curious.

"What did they do?" I asked.

"That's for another time, it angers me to speak of their betrayal." She told me.

"You have darkness in you, did you know that?" I asked her.

"The best people in life do." She explained. "Your vampires will fall in line, when they see how we take over the city." She told me smiling. "I'll work on the werewolves now."

PRESENT NEW YORK

My brain repressed the memories. It was hard to think of her, but she was everything to me at one point. But there was no point in putting myself through that pain when I didn't have to. I heard a knock on the door and went to answer it, but no one was there. I suddenly felt like someone was watching me.

"If you come out now, I promise to end your life quickly." I said. I saw someone flash from one side to the other. "Your choice, I enjoy taking my time." I said.

"What if I ask nicely? Would you let me stay then?" I turned around slowly. Her voice was the same.

"I've finally lost my mind. Great." I muttered walking towards the figure. She smiled and laughed. I was drawn to it, until I realized this could be a trap.

"Who are you?" I asked. "What do you want from me?" I asked again. The figure remained silent. "Answer me!" I yelled. She took a cautious step towards me.

"Shh, it's alright love." I said. "Don't be afraid of me, it's really me, I'm here." She told me. She continued to walk slowly towards me. My instincts were to end this stranger's life, but my eyes did not let me. She reached for me. Her hand caressing my face. My eyes closed involuntarily. When I opened my eyes, she still stood there.

"Then I must have lost my mind." I told her.

"Do you have delusions often?" she asked me. I wrapped my hands around her waist. I let my mind fall into my delusion.

"Never this realistic." I told her, leaning in to kiss her neck. She shivered under my toucher.

"Niklaus." She said in a ragged voice. "I am here my love. I am no delusion. I am a vampire now." She told me. I stared at her. "Please believe me." She begged me.

"How can I? I watched you burn. I watched you continue to burn 400 years later when I returned to the city. This is only my minds way of helping me cope with my loss." I said to her. I sat down on the sofa and tried to clear my head. When I saw Cammy I could send her away at will. When I opened my eyes she was still there. Frustrated I threw my head back and closed my eyes. "You're not real, go away." Then without warning she was sitting on my lap, facing me. She held my face in place with both of her hands, and brought her lips closer to mine.

"If you don't believe what you see, then perhaps you'll believe what you feel." She crushed her lips onto mine and kissed me softly. When my lips awoke with recognition, she slid her tongue into my mouth, and bit my bottom lip. She crushed her body onto mine and when she broke away we were panting heavily. I looked up at her and she slid from my lap and sat across from me on the coffee table. "Do you believe me now?" she asked breathless.

"Without a doubt." I took her back into my arms and our lips met again.


	7. Chapter 7

Klaus' POV Chapter 7:

Adrienne remained in my arms for the better part of the day. We did not speak often, but were otherwise occupied. I forgot the outside world. The day faded into night and finally after reconnecting again, she laid in my arms. The loft was dimly lit and the windows were covered. She traced shapes on my chest and sighed often. Finally I broke the silence.

"Tell me what's happened." I whispered. She turned her body to face me, and saw the realness in my question. She wrapped herself in the sheet and sat up on the bed. She faced me but looked at her hands. As she fidgeted she whispered.

"When the witches came for me, they stopped my heart. If not for the fact that I had been drinking your blood, I would have died. When I awoke, I had no magic, you thought I was dead, and I lost hope of coming back. The witches were after me, they believed I had died. I had no way to defend myself; it became to be too much."

"You turned it off." I stated. She finally looked up at me.

"I couldn't have left otherwise. I thought about never seeing you or Marcellus again, but it would be far too dangerous and I had promised you a life free from running." She told me. "I spent the better part of a century with my emotions turned off." I took her hand. "I ravaged through cities, destroying them in my path, until I found a new coven. The Witches were from the Bennet family." She told me.

"The Bennet Family?" I asked her. What a small world. From my former neighbor down to Bonnie Bennet, these witches were all over the world.

"Yes, and my biological ancestors apparently." She smiled. "I found them or they found me and forced me to turn on my humanity." She told me. I stared at her in awe. "Have you heard of them?" she asked me.

"Once or twice." I smiled. "It explains why you were so powerful." She smiled at me.

"The Bennet line was once one of the original magical families when the world began." She told me.

"How do you know they are your family?" I asked her curious myself. The lighter conversation brought her back to my chest while she spoke.

"There was a man name Zeke. He sensed me and confirmed it with my blood." She said.

"What have you done since?" I asked her wanting to keep her voice flowing. I'd missed it.

"I've travelled some. A few years ago, an old friend of mine died and left me her home, so I stay in and out, right on the beach." She told me. "And what have you been up to?" I felt her laugh.

"This and that." I told her. She turned towards me and frowned. "Alright, I'm sure you remember more than I do. I've been around for a long time." I told her, holding her to me.

"Well my sources tell me that you are a father again." She said. "That she is a beautiful and bright little girl." I froze and she felt my tension. "Don't fret love, I know that you are an amazing father, and that she is something special."

"How do you know this?" I asked her.

"Don't be angry, but Kol found me." She said. "He's filled me in on the things that I've missed. I'm sorry that you have to be separated from your daughter. I know what it's like to have to leave the people you love behind to keep them safe." She said.

"My brother knows you're alive and he says nothing." I said. I started to stand and get dressed, but the disappointment in her eyes was apparent.

"I'm sorry; please don't be mad at Kol. There was so much happening in your life. It was not the right time for me to return."

"You should have never left." I said without thinking. I couldn't look at her face. "I'm sorry." I whispered turning away from her again. I felt her move and pick up something off the floor. She was getting dressed too. "We missed so much." I told her.

"I couldn't go back. I wasn't able to keep you safe anymore. I would only have been a burden, someone else you had to keep safe. I was weak."

"That excuse does not make sense! We had planned for you to become like me. That's why you fed on my blood every day, in case someone attempted to hurt you, you would come back to me."

"They didn't hurt me Nik, they killed me. We wanted more, remember?" she asked me.

"But we had a plan B in place. We had the entire alphabet of plans for every instance."

"Not every instance." She mumbled.

"What does that mean?" I asked her. She turned away from me. "What are you keeping from me?" I stood in front of her.

"I can't." she told me. "It's complicated." I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

"We can't start again, if we have secrets." I told her, and I wanted it more than ever. Having her here, even if it's only been one day, makes me feel healed, partially.

"If I tell you, it will change everything. You've just lost your daughter and your entire family. Do you honestly want to open up old wounds?" she asked me.

"I want to know what's going on. I think I have a right to know. I don't want to lose you again." I told her.

"You may wish you didn't know." She told me.

NEW ORLEANS PAST

She read poetry that she had written to Marcellus. He held her tightly, but something bothered her. She looked down and gripped her side. I was at her side at an instance. I looked as she lifted her hand. Her wound where she was stabbed had not healed. I had fed her my blood and she had used her magic to speed up the process, but nothing.

"It has not healed yet." She whispered.

"Why?" I asked her.

"It's not over." She said. Marcellus looked at us both and was frightened.

"Are you dying?" she looked at him and then at me. She pulled him closer to us.

"Of course not. She will be fine, as long as we can find who did this." I said to them. He didn't look convinced. "I will keep you safe. I will keep both of you safe, I promise." I said to them smiling. She looked up at me. "It's alright love, rest, Kol will find them." I reassured them. I kissed the top of both of their heads. As she closed her eyes, Marcellus watched her. I backed away from the room. When the door closed I called out for Antwon. He appeared easily. "I have to step away. Don't let them out of your side. No one comes in and no one comes out, do you understand?" he nodded. He stood at the door with his arms crossed. I made my way outside and walked to where she was attacked the previous night. The people avoided me as usual, but one stood out. A cloaked figure stood across the street.

"Niklaus." I heard Elijah called out to me from down the way. "What are you doing here? Where is Adrienne?" he asked me concerned.

"She's at the compound, I can't stay there and do nothing." I confessed to him. "Tell me you've found something." I begged.

"I'm afraid I haven't. I sent Rebekah to help Kol." I nodded and turned back towards where the figure stood.

"Someone was just watching me, I'm going to go check who." I told him.

"No, it's not safe to leave Marcellus and Adrienne alone right now. We don't know who we can trust. Go home and keep them safe, we'll find out who did this." He told me. I stared at him.

"I didn't know she mattered to you." I told him. He shrugged.

"She matters to you a great deal." He assured me. "Go back to the compound, I'll find you when I've found something." I nodded and began walking back to the compound. It was nearly sunset. I quickened my pace and walked in to a nearly empty home. Antwon was gone and I rushed upstairs to find him on the floor. I rushed into the bedroom and found it empty. Marcellus and Adrienne were gone. I ran to my room, it was empty and finally I found Marcellus asleep in his bed, but a struggle had occurred. I tried to wake him, but he slept soundly. I looked around the room. There was a binding agent around his bed, salt. I was surprised I was able to penetrate it. I followed what appeared to be blood down the steps and into the cellar. There Kol lay unconscious. Everything went black. When I woke I was in the bayou being hunted by the werewolves. As I ran, I realized all my vampire traits were dormant. I ran as fast as the average human, but the werewolves eventually caught me and dragged me back to the compound. It was obviously a dream, but I could not wake. The cycle repeated over and over. I woke in the forest, the wolves would drag me back and then it would begin again. I started to hear voices in the distant. They were muffled.

"Where are Nik and Adrienne?" I heard Kol say. I waited for my nightmare to restart, but it did not. I felt as though my body flew.

"Niklaus is there." Elijah said from farther away. "But I'm afraid the Elders killed the Elder's killed Adrienne." My heart shot out an ache and I began to feel within my body once again. It felt as though a dagger was shoved into my heart.

"What? Marcel's voice sounded farthest, but it brought me out of the darkness. I sat up and looked at him. "She's dead?" he cried out. I saw Rebekah appear next to him and attempt to calm him.

"It's alright; everything is going to be alright." She said, he cried harder still. "Come you need your rest." She pulled him, but he had seen me. His eyes locked on mine and he shouted.

"You told me you would keep her safe!" he told me, the guilt washed over me and I felt dead for the first time in over 500 years. They all stared at me, while Rebekah pulled him into his bedroom. He didn't come out again, too distraught to be here. I looked around the room and waited but no one spoke. My veins had turned icy and I spoke through my teeth.

"Where is she?" I asked them.

"Calm yourself Niklaus." Elijah told me, my head snapped in his direction. Now was not the time for calm, now was the time to destroy everyone.

"WHERE IS SHE?" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Finally someone answered.

"The witches took her to the cemetery, but-"I didn't stay to listen to Elijah, I ran as fast as I could, unlike my dream this time I had all my abilities. I saw them gathered, chanting and celebrating. While my blood was cold as ice when I found out she was dead, it was the opposite when I found the perpetrators. I started pulling branches from the closet trees and aiming for the heart of the witches. They chanted harder and created a boundary spell. They were protected. When I felt someone's hand on my shoulder I finally felt it all at once. I dropped to my knees, feeling weak. I yelled to the sky in torture. Then my mind attempted to heal me by offering me hope.

"I fed her my blood, she'll come back." I said, but Kol did not look hopeful. He knew something I did not. That all my hope was lost, when Elijah spoke, I barely heard the words.

"Niklaus, the flame is eternal, it can never be extinguished. Her punishment for turning her back on her coven is to burn for always." He told me. I looked at Kol who looked far too calm. She was his friend, even before she met me. He was supposed to have protected her.

"How did this happen?!" I yelled. I wanted an explanation. "She had the power of a thousand witches! She had the Original family! How did this happen?" I asked him. "How did they get to her?" I wanted him to explain.

"I don't know, I can't remember." He told me. "I think we were under a spell." He said hesitantly, but then the other young witch approached us, still protected from the barrier.

"There is nothing here for you anymore. Leave this place, now." She said smugly. The smirk she wore rewarded her with her demise. I grabbed the bar from the wrought iron gate and plunged it into her stomach and flipped her onto our side. I pulled the bar from her and let her suffer with her pain. I got close to her and whispered into her ear.

"Your coven will live to regret taking her from me." I told her. "You will not get the opportunity to regret it." I looked into her eyes as I plunged my hand into her chest and ripped out her heart. It gave me a glimmer of relief to see the light vacate her eyes. I stood up and walked away from my family. I felt the pain of a thousand deaths, but first I would get my revenge, for Adrienne.

PRESENT DAY NEW YORK

"The witches killed me, but Rebekah and Elijah put the entire thing in motion. The night I was attacked they held me in place while they used the dark blade on me to drain my magic." She told me. Again my blood boiled to think that I had forgiven anything from them. I was angry that I had ever apologized to them for anything I'd done. I wanted nothing more than to plunge new daggers into their hearts and torture their minds for years. She touched my hand. "I couldn't let you lose your family too." She said. "Always and forever, right?" she told me.


	8. Chapter 8

Klaus' POV Chapter 8:

"They killed you!" I screamed and she flinched back.

"I'm not dead." She responded pulled me down onto the couch. "You can't be angry at your family now. With all that has happened, it's not worth it. It turned out okay." I stared at her in shock. "Not perfect, but okay." She said.

"Why did you never come to me before?" I asked her.

"When I finally figured out how to be a vampire, without massacring entire cities, you had left New Orleans. I wasn't a witch, I couldn't cast a spell to find you, nor could I risk your relationship with them." She told me.

"You should have come back to me when it began. I would have helped you. I know a thing or two about humanity switches." I smiled at her and pulled her to me. It was hard to remain angry with her here.

"How did you find me? Did Kol tell you?" I asked him.

"No. I used magic." I looked at her as she smiled.

"How?" I asked her amazed.

"You tell me." She said. "Eight years ago, I woke one morning and felt the earth again. I could do magic again." She told me. I thought back to eight years before.

"Eight years ago, I broke my curse." I told her.

"I know. The family I was staying with told me that the hybrid had broken his curse. I almost didn't believe it." She said. "But a few years ago, when the sire line was severed, I thought you died. I almost went to you, but when Kol was resurrected I was able to see through Davina." She told me.

"You know the little witch?" I asked her.

"Of all the people in the world Davina and I share one thing, we hate the ancestors." She said.

"Why didn't you come then?" I asked her.

"To add to your troubles?" she asked me. "No, I was not about to cause any more problems within your life. Besides Kol knew I was alive, if he thought it was safe to know that I was out here, he would have told you himself." She said.

"And you trust Kol?" I asked her. "Did he have anything to do with it?" I asked confused.

"No, Kol was always on the fence about us, but he was my friend." She said. "Are you angry?" she asked me.

"I am. I'm not going to pretend that what they did is okay. They betrayed me when they hurt you. They lied to me for so many years. Before Hope and Marcellus, you were it for me. How are you not angry? We missed nearly four hundred years together." I told her.

"I've forgiven them. In a way I know why they did it. They feared for you. I was terrible Nik, I let my revenge cloud my mind and hurt a lot of people." She told me. "I'm not that person anymore." She told me. "I'm not sure where we go from here, but I need you to know that I don't want to live life that way anymore." She confessed. I lifted her head to see her again.

"Neither do I. I want to be someone my daughter could be proud of." She smiled at me. "As far as my siblings, we can't see each other anymore, so I would not be able to avenge you and protect my daughter." I told her smiling. "So they are safe from the big bad wolf." I told her, she threw herself into my arms.

"Speaking of which, I refuse to believe there is nothing we can do about the hollow. I will not live in a world where the great Klaus Mikaelson, cannot see his own daughter." She told me. I stared at her.

"That was the other reason I decided to find you, I'm here to help you." She told me.

"There is nothing you can do love." I told her.

"There is nothing I can't do love." She said to me. Her phone rang out in protest from her bag on the floor and she went to pick it up. "It's Kol." She showed me. "Should I tell him I'm with you?" I shrugged.

"He can't have you back either way." I smiled at her and she answered the phone.

"Hello." She said.

'Finally! Where are you?' he yelled through the phone. "I've been calling you for weeks. Don't do it Adrienne, don't go find-"

"I'm with your brother." She said.

"Hello Brother." I said from behind her.

'You went to him. Are you insane?' he asked her in a whisper. I took the phone from her hand and put it on speaker.

"Speaking of insane Kol, would you like to explain to me why you kept this from me?" I asked him.

'It was necessary and complicated.' He said.

"Yes, they are both lucky we cannot be near each other right now and that I have my daughter to think about." I said. The phone remained silent. "Oh, calm down Kol, we are alright. The family remains and I will not be daggering any of you." I said.

"You're taking this extremely well." He said. "But I don't think we should tell Rebekah." He told us. "She may not react the way you did. She may want to find Adrienne." He told me. I looked at her, but she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not afraid of Rebekah. And we don't know that she would react the same way." She responded.

"Let's not test that." I said. "We'll speak later Kol; I'll call you when we arrive at our next destination." She stared at me.

"You're both going to Europe?" he asked.

"If she'll come with me." With a smile from ear to ear she leaped into my open arms. "I guess that's a yes. Really we are fine Kol, try not to worry."

"Behave yourselves." Kol lectured.

"Don't throw any parties!" she responded with laughter as did he. We hung up and curled up closer. She looked at me and I felt mesmerized.

"Never leave my side again." She nodded and kissed me and I began to reacquaint myself with her again.

That night I slept, for the first time in weeks. My subconscious was filled with our reunion. She was more perfect than I remembered. When I woke I almost thought I had dreamed her up, when I found no sign of her presence. I heard someone speaking in whispered tones out in the hall and went to find her. She stood with her back to me and spoke quickly.

"I can't stop everything I'm doing to go to get him." She said into the phone. I heard nothing from the other end. "Not everything you see happens." She said. "I just got here, I can't just leave." I put my hand on her shoulder and she jumped. "I'll call you right back." She hung up the phone and turned towards me smiling. "Did I wake you?" she asked me. I shook my head and pulled her inside.

"What's going on?" I asked her. She shook her head and sat down. "No secrets remember?" I told her while kneeling in front of her.

"You're right. Someone I know is in trouble." She told me.

"What kind of trouble?" I asked her.

"He's going to end his suffering." She looked down. "I would not be this torn, except the Cullen's really helped me during a time where I had no one." She told me, which hurt a little.

"Then let's go get him. Where is he going?" I said.

"You'd go with me?" she asked me.

"What part of never leave me again did you not understand?" I said to her smiling. "Now where is he going?" I asked her.

"Volterra." She told me. The name sounded familiar, like I'd been there before or heard of it before. "Italy."

"Perfect we were heading to Europe anyway, we'll begin there." She jumped into my arms.

"I love you Niklaus Mikaelson." She kissed me softly.

"I love you." I whispered into her ear. After kissing me again she pulled out her phone.

"I'll call my friend back, would you call the airlines?" I nodded and pulled out my phone arranging it all on their website. My jet was already at JFK awaiting my call. She was quick on the phone. Whoever she spoke to was relieved that she was on her way, certain it would make the difference. We packed my things and left to her hotel to get her things. We made it to the airport about an hour after and were on the runway awaiting take off. She looked at the jet and awed.

"Do you like it?" I asked her.

"You always liked the finer things love." She told me. When we finally Acended and the crew were seated away, I pulled her to my lap, after pouring her a cup of blood. She looked at it surprised and drank it willingly. She looked utterly satisfied. I stared at her. "I don't always drink human blood." She told me.

"Let me guess Stefan Salvatore diet?" she looked at me curiously. "An old mate who continues to fall off the impossible wagon he's created for himself.

"I have a problem with blood. I'm kind of addicted to it." She said shyly.

"It's a good thing you're a vampire." I teased.

"No, really. It's euphoric to me. I haven't drunk from the vein in over two hundred years. If I'm feeling weak, I drink a blood bag, but if not I drink animal blood." She told me.

"I'm sure you can do it, if you tried." I told her.

"I lose control." She confessed.

"You've never tried with me. I wouldn't let you fall off the edge." I told her. "I promise." She smiled.

"I know." She drank again. "That's why I'm trusting myself." She told me.

"Who taught you the animal diet?" I asked her.

"After I left the Bennet Witches, I wandered. I felt really lost. I didn't know where you were, I couldn't go back to New Orleans. I started trying to have some control and was not winning. I came across a family of different vampires. They took me in and helped me control my appetite and associate myself with the humans. It was easier for me, I could walk around in the daylight." She told me.

"They didn't have rings?" I asked her.

"They wouldn't have worked even if they did." She said. "You are not the only kind of vampire out there love. The world is full of supernatural creatures."


	9. Chapter 9

Klaus' POV Chapter 9:

"As the story goes, there was a witch named Suzanna. She lived a few years after your mother created you. She tried to build her own army of vampires, but the spell backfired. Her family turned and then killed her. They were too noticeable, so they went into hiding."

"Noticeable how?" I asked.

"They are fast and strong, like you. Their emotions are heightened, but they are different too. They only have to bite their victims to turn them. It's supposedly really painful. The longer they are vampires, the less they remember about their human lives. And lastly they cannot come out in the sun, because the witch who created them called upon the sun instead of the moon to create them. In the sunlight they glow, any human would discover them, so they hide." She told me.

"How do you know this? How do you know it's true?" I asked her, she held me tighter.

"Because I lived with them for many years." She said.

"The Cullens?" I asked. "They were these vampires." She nodded.

"They were different. They had a full family, and didn't hunt humans, instead they lived amongst them. They taught me a lot." She said. "Another thing about them, not the Cullens in particular, but these species of vampires, is that they have some gifts. Edward for example is able to read people's minds. My compulsion doesn't work on him, but yours might." She smiled.

"Is Edward the one who's decided to end his life?" she nodded. "Why?"

"Apparently Edward found a girl he loves, but she's human, and being in her life was causing threats to her life. He left her to protect her." She told me. "Alice, his sister, has visions and she had one of the girl jumping from a cliff to her death." I watched her. "His other sister Rosalie received a call from him and she told him that his love was dead, so he went to end his pain." She said.

"But she's not dead." I stated. She nodded. "Why can't we simply call him or send him a message that she's alive?"

"What did you say?" She asked me. She smiled at me, jumping up and closing the curtains that separated us from the crew. "You my love are a genius." She told me. She sat with her legs crossed on the flood. She looked up at me and winked. She closed her eyes and chanted. "Trouver l'entrer dans son esprit." She said. "Trouver l'entrer dans son esprit." She repeated. When her eyes opened, they were completely white. She fell back and I ran to her. "Dammit." She cussed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He pushed me out, without even noticing." She said. "I'm not strong enough." She complained.

"Channel me." I told her. She looked at me strangely.

"I can't do that." She said.

"Of course you can, I trust you." I told her. She stared up at me as I sat down in front of her. She hesitantly placed her hand on one side of my neck and the other over my heart.

"Stop me if I hurt you." She whispered. I nodded. She began chanting in whispers and then louder. "Trouver l'entrer dans son esprit" I felt her tap into me. She shuddered lightly and then she entered his mind. "Trouver l'entrer dans son esprit" I heard her mind as she entered his. 'Stop what you're doing. Think about this. Get more information.' She repeated this message over and over until he stopped plotting and paused for a moment. His subconscious replied and he said, 'Why?'

'Because Bella is alive.' She responded. 'It's not a trick, stop for one second and think.' She told him. She sat down in the little room he was in waiting for the time to pass and we were pulled out simultaneously. I looked at her and she looked weak.

"That will hold him for a few hours." She said trying to stand. I helped her up.

"What's wrong?" I asked her worried.

"I had to mentally reach him for so far away, it drains you." I looked at her and was concerned. "I'm not the same witch I was. I don't have access to the power I once had." She said laying her head back on the seat. "I just need to rest, but I'll be fine by the time we get there." She told me. I kissed her forehead and sat back in my seat concerned. I watched her as she slept. She was very still. The phone on my seat rang and I answered.

"I need to speak to Adrienne." She said. It was Alice the sister she'd been speaking with.

"She's asleep." I said.

"Wake her up, this is an emergency." She told me.

"The last spell took a lot out of her. She needs to rest, now you can tell me and if it's dire, I'll wake her." The phone was silent on the other end. She was debating with herself.

"I'm guessing you're Klaus, the hybrid." She told me.

"I'm guessing you're Alice, the one who sees the future." I responded.

"Alright, fine, Edward stopped for the moment. He's not thinking about the Volturi for now. He's at a hotel room outside the city for now." She told me. "What spell did she cast?" she asked concerned.

"She sent him a message telepathically. Told him to wait, she told him Bella was alive." I said.

"I don't see him leaving for tonight, but I'll call if that changes. Don't let her keep using magic, it's dangerous." She hung up before I could ask and no number appeared. I watched her more carefully now and more concerned. Why did she use magic if it was dangerous? I waited until we were almost there to wake her. I spent hours contemplating everything that had happened in a few days. I had gotten her back, gotten filled in on what I didn't know, and now we were off to save someone in her life that I knew nothing about. She was in danger; her magic was a threat to her somehow.

"Adrienne." I whispered. "Adrienne we're almost there." I told her. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up as she saw me. Her kiss was intense but soft. I sat down beside her and she reached for the glass of blood I had waiting. "How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." She told me.

"Alice called." I told her. She looked up at me. "She said that Edward was staying put for now, that she would call if that changed." She nodded.

"Good, maybe that means we'll make it on time. How far are we now?" she asked me.

"About 30 minutes out." I told her and she nodded. "Alice also said that you weren't supposed to be using magic." I said. Her reaction told me what I needed to know. She didn't look at me as she replied and tensed in my arms.

"Alice needs to mind her own business." She said. When she looked up at me, her eyes begged for understanding. "Alice has visions about the future and when I received my powers again, she saw me turning back into my old self, but that won't happen." She explained. "She believes that if I use my powers I'll be tempted to go back." She told me.

"Do you ever think about it?" I asked her.

"Sometimes, but it's not worth who I become, especially since I was never a vampire during that time." She told me.

"Perhaps you should take it easy on the big spells." She looked at me betrayed. "I just want to keep you safe and it obviously takes a lot out of you. I can't lose you." I told her. She smiled.

"You won't." she said to me. "Although all that rest, brought upon an idea about the hollow." She said.

"One thing at a time, love. Let's save your friend and then we can think about the Hollow." I said.

"No, listen. What if we can siphon the hollow from all of you, like I used to do when I took their life forces and place them into a binding agent, like your mother used to curse you."

"Like the moon stone." I asked her.

"Yes, imagine. We can find relics; place her essence into a prison. Without magic or escape. Even if someone were to reunite the pieces they would need a lot more to get her out of the prison world." She told me.

"How would we do it?" I asked her, not liking the excitement in her eyes.

"I would do it. I'd pull it from each of you, one at a time of course, and place them in the relics. Then I would have to create the prison world, but for that I'd need the entire Bennet line." She told me, thinking out loud.

"Those seem like big spells, not to mention the Bennet line may not want to help. I haven't exactly been a friend to them." I told her. "Not to mention the temptation involved." I muttered.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"The Hollow is the greatest power ever known. She created the werewolves, rose from the dead, and controls the minds of thousands. To put her essence into the relic, she'd have to cross to you and she may enjoy your body more than she wanted Hope's." I told her.

"You don't trust me to fight her off?" she asked. The phone rang and interrupted us. I looked away and poured myself a stiff drink. She answered and talked quickly into the receiver.

"Alice, what did you see?" she asked. I heard nothing from the other end. "They haven't given him a decision yet, we have time. We're almost there and then it's a short drive to where he is." She told her. "We'll make it, Alice. Edward's not dying today." She told her. "I'll call you when we find him." She told her. "They won't." she replied annoyed. "Even if I have to kill them myself." She hung up the phone and put her hands into her hands.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"Edward went to the Volturi, he asked them to kill him and they're deliberating." She told me coldly.

"What was that at the end?" I asked her.

"The Volturi are dangerous. They have an army of talented vampires, If I have to go in after him, it will be very difficult to get out." She said.

"If we go after him." I said.

"No, we can't risk it. You have a daughter to think about." She said to me.

"And you can risk it?" I asked her.

"Yes, because unlike what everyone else thinks, I am strong enough and I can control myself." She stood up and walked to the back of the jet. I sat unmoving thinking how the conversation had gotten so out of hand. I didn't want her hurt. I wanted to keep her safe. But while I worried about her capabilities to handle this alone, I never underestimated her determination and strength. If anyone could do this, she could.


	10. Chapter 10

Klaus' POV Chapter 10:

Arriving in Italy was unlike anything I'd experienced. We had no chance to see anything as we quickly went to rent a car. We sped through the single lane streets of the country side. Upon arrival we realized the hotel room was abandoned. Only a small duffle bag in disarray remained. She pulled out her phone, but there was no answer. Alice would not arrive until a little before twelve. She paced back and forth.

"He has to be in the city." She stated. "I have to go get him."

"Are you mad?" I asked her. "You're not going into the lion's den. We don't know what they have or what they can do." I told her.

"I'm not just going to leave him." She told me. She tried to walk towards me and I stood in her path. "Get out of the way!" she yelled.

"No! We are not going there to get you killed." I told her. "We have to think!" I said.

"You don't have to go." She told me.

"I will go where you go. Just wait to hear from Alice. If something is wrong she will reach out." I told her. She stared up at me frustrated. She sat down on the bed stared at her feet. We had sat in silence for almost thirty minutes when her phone rang. She put it on speaker and answered.

"We're here, he's not here." She told her.

"He went to ask them to do it, they are deliberating, but he should be back soon. Bella and I will be arriving at 11:30, if you can't stop him, I'll bring her there so he can see what for himself." She told her.

"Alright." Adrienne responded.

"We are going to do everything in our power to save him Adrienne, I promise." She said and hung up.

"What am I missing?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?" she responded.

"I know you care for him, but we are doing all we can. Why are you so hard on yourself right now?" I asked her.

"I went from having everything to losing it all to losing myself and after I regained control, I was lonely. I had no one. I didn't know where you were or if it was safe to contact you. I didn't know Marcel was a vampire. Carlisle and Edward found me and they showed me how to live again. Edward was one of my closest friends because we couldn't have secrets." She told me. Edward was a mind reader. "When my magic came back, I left them. It was too much too stressful to walk around on eggshells. I could have prevented this. I wouldn't have let him leave her, let alone react this way." She explained. "I guess I feel guilty."

"This is not your fault." I sat down next to her. "It's hard when you lose the person you love. We both know this." I told her. "I promise that we will save him. No matter what, I will make sure you don't lose him as well." I told her. She nodded. We heard the door knob twist and Edward stood there looking like the dead. He looked at her and turned to leave. She raised her hand and shouted.

"sceller la porte!" She had sealed the door. He turned towards her and took a calculated step, before spotting me. "Calm down Edward." She told him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. "And why did you bring him?" he looked at me.

"Bella is alive, Edward, she survived." She told him, but he raised his hand.

"Stop. I don't want to hear your lies." He told her. "What do you know about Bella anyway?"

"She's not lying mate, your girl is alive and well." I told him.

"I don't remember asking for your comments." He said to me. He took another step and I stood in front of them. "Leave here, now. I don't want or need your help." He said turning his back on us.

"Edward this is ridiculous." She said.

"No one asked for your help Adrienne!" he yelled.

"I think we should all take a breath." I suggested.

"Mind your business Hybrid." He told me. I smiled as I usually did when I was agitated.

"I see my reputation perceives me. So then you know that I can't be killed, do you really want to challenge me." I told him.

"I do believe that we have stumbled across some luck." The voice came from the doorway and Edward stiffened.

"Have they decided?" Edward asked.

"Aro requests your presence." The other one said and I pulled Adrienne more behind me. "And just to be safe, why don't you bring your friends along." The bigger man said.

"They have nothing to do with this." Edward said.

"But it's not every day an Original comes this close to the city. I'm sure Aro, Marcus and Caus would enjoy that very much." He said looking at me and I smiled back.

"No." Edward said.

"It's alright. If you're going, we're going." She said and stepped around me and him. I held onto her hand and she raised the other and said, "liberté." And the seal was down. She walked past them and waited for Edward, who looked hesitant for the first time. He stalked off and waited behind us and the one of them ran ahead of us. I wondered if I'd ever know their names or if they mattered enough to know.

"This is Felix and Demetri is up ahead, we're supposed to follow him." Edward spoke to us. Could he read my mind as well and he nodded. Great, I thought. Still joined hand and hand we ran after him and tried to follow him. He knew the path he was taking, we did not. Edward seemed familiar enough. As we entered the city we took elaborate tunnels and back alleys. It was daylight and there was no foliage to keep them hidden from the sun. They wore dark cloaks and Edward stuck to the shadows. We finally ended up in the sewer below the city. The tunnels turned less gritty and classier as we ran. We stopped in front of a grand door. When we stopped the door opened from the other side and a woman stood there waiting. She didn't look at us, only at her feet and we were allowed to walk past. In this room a few dozen vampires stood. They watched us as we walked and I pulled her closer to me. Who were these vampires and why had I not heard about them before.

"They are the enforcers to the rules. Our number one rule is to keep the secret, make the world pretend we don't exist." Edward whispered. This reading the mind thing was going to get old fast. He smirked. I looked down at Adrienne as she stared at the three thrones in front of us. Three figures walked slowly towards them and two of them sat down.

"We asked to speak with Edward, what is the meaning of this?" The blonde man asked. Felix walked over to the man that remained standing and took his hand. It was curious but not anything to frighten me. Adrienne seemed relaxed. At least we were together.

"For now." Edward whispered.

"Stop invading my mind." I whispered back.

"It's not something I can help." He responded. The man stood there watching us. "Aro." Edward nodded. Aro came down the steps almost gliding. He stood in front of me and then looked down to Adrienne.

"Welcome Niklaus. It's not every day that we have an original join us in our fair city." He said. I was surprised that he knew my name, but he people usually did. "And you must be Adrienne." He said to her. We stared at each other and then at him.

"How do you know our names?" she asked him.

"Through Edward of course." He said. We looked at him.

"Aro's gift is that he can hear every thought a person has ever had, by just touching them. So he's seen you in my memories and I know about him from you." Edward explained quickly. I nodded.

"I would say I've heard so much about you, but the truth is I've never heard of you before a few days ago." I told him. He laughed out loud, but the other two remained sullen.

"Well allow me to introduce us. These are my brothers Caus and Marcus." He gestured as he spoke. "And I am Aro." He said. The others began clearing out of the room, which gave me a bad feeling. Those that remained looked innocent enough. Felix and Demetri stood by the back door with a disciplined face on. The other two that remained were petite in size and young looking. If not for their pasty skin and bright red eyes, I wouldn't think they were anything. "You've met Felix and Demetri and these are two others that are part of the guard, Alec and Jane." He gestured towards the two.

"What brings you to our city?" Caus asked curiously.

"I come to get Edward and take him home." I told them.

"It seems Edward doesn't want to go home. Perhaps you should be on your way." Caus said to me.

"Peace brother. He is welcome here. We have so much to ask him." Aro responded. "But first the matter at hand. Edward." He said looking at Edward.

"And that is your decision? You know I'll get what I want." He told them.

"Not without provocation." Marcus says.

"Wasteful." Aro muttered. "If you're unhappy with your lot, you can always join us here." He said. Edward had shut down. In his mind he must have been thinking of ways to provoke them. How sad, If Bella was here instead of racing here, it would not be necessary. I looked down at my watch. Her flight should have arrived twenty minutes ago. Perhaps she'd appear here to save him. He looked up at me and I couldn't read his expression. If Bella came here, she would die. He nodded.

"No thank you." Edward said.

"Very well. You may go if you wish Edward." Aro said.

"What about my friends?" he asked.

"We're just about done." Edward stood frozen; he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. "Very well."

"What questions do you have for me?" I asked him.

"For you just one, we've wanted to reach out sooner, but that could have left us exposed." Aro said.

"You and your family are very careless. We hear about your careless acts from here." Caus interjected. "If you don't provide restraint then we will have no problem-"He ranted.

"Are you threatening me? Who are you to me? You are no king of mine." I told him.

"Peace brother. All he means to say is that when you are discovered it won't be long until they discover our kind as well." He said to me.

"I don't take orders from anyone." I said simply.

"Perhaps, but if you're not careful the people closest to you, could get hurt for your carelessness." This hit a nerve with me, were they threatening the people around me now. I felt my hands shake, but Adrienne squeezed it.

"He hasn't made it a thousand years by being scared. There is a reason the vampire world knows who Klaus Mikaelson is." Adrienne said. "If I were you, I would be very careful that the people closest to you don't get hurt by your arrogance." She told them. Caus rose from his seat but Aro waved him off.

"Now you Adrienne, I have some questions for." Aro said.


	11. Chapter 11

Klaus' POV Chapter 11:

"What questions would you have for me?" She asked him.

"I am fascinated by you. I hoped that you would come to the rescue today. You and Alice of course. I have never come across two more unique creatures in my life." He told her. "Alice with her gifts of the premonition and you a vampire and a witch." He laughed and clapped. "How is it that it happened? Edward didn't know either." He told me.

"I'm not sure why you want to know." She replied.

"Curious minds." He said. She looked at me and then at Edward and her phone began to vibrate in her pocket.

"The truth is I don't know how it happened. When I first turned I lost all my powers and then some years ago they came back, but not all of them. I can't explain it." She told him.

"That is interesting. We've had witches working with us for years; of course we can't change them because they would lose all of their valuable gifts, so we must replenish them often." He told us.

"Quite annoying actually." Caius replied.

"Perhaps you'd consider joining us here. We have Grimoire's most witches only ever dream of seeing. We have more collected power than anyone in the world." Aro said. She looked at him smiling, almost laughing.

"No thank you." She told them.

"Really? Not even to learn how to Clense ton âme des ancêtres." He told her. I spoke French and understood that he was baiting her about the ancestors. "I mean they still remain in their place, and after all they've taken from you, I would imagine you'd like your revenge."

"I've forgiven them, but I am curious how you have so much information about me." She asked him.

"I'm rather curious as well." I added. We looked at him and he looked to his brothers.

"My dear." He said looking at Alec. "Please go bring our friend here." The Vampire disappeared and all that remained was his tiny companion. I waited.

"Who are you bringing?" she asked him.

"All in good time dear." He said, having a seat at his throne. I looked back at Edward as he heard something in the mind of the others. Before he could speak he dropped to the floor in pain. He remained silent, but the torture was apparent on his face. She ran to him and when I looked back we were not alone. Alec had returned and by his side was another cloaked creature. It pointed its fingers at Adrienne and I ran towards it, only to end up back home. I was back in the compound of New Orleans. It was back to its glory, but it was wrong. I searched around, this must be a trap. Then I saw her, my daughter painting at the table. I walked up to her and sat down.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"I live here Daddy." She said, not bothering looking up.

"Hope, where's your mother?" she did not respond. "Sweetheart answer me." I asked her. When I saw what she was drawing I stood and backed away. It was a picture of the bright blue ring of the hollow. "Hope." I called out.

"Hope no longer resides here." She looked up and her eyes were bright blue. She lifted me into the air with her magic and I slammed into a hanging. The wood pierced through me. I yelled out in agony.

"Where is my daughter? How did you escape?!" I yelled at her.

"Did you really think you could get rid of me?" she said. And then through my screams I heard Adrienne again and remembered that I must be in a spell.

"Nik!" she yelled out. I closed my eyes and concentrated on where I was and how I got there. Someone was doing this to me. Someone was hurting Adrienne. Edward was writhing in pain and slowly, I made it back to my body again. When I opened my eyes the finger was pointed in my direction, but the cloak had come down. I looked at her for a brief second and turned to see Adrienne standing protectively between Edward and me. I stood up and joined her.

"I didn't expect that I could hold you that long." She told me. "So nice to have the opportunity to thank you for all you've done Klaus." She said. The woman before me was familiar, though she had changed a lot, her eyes remained the same. Only now those eyes were dark red and in the body of an immortal. I couldn't imagine what Adrienne must be thinking.

"This is between you and me Annette, leave them alone." Adrienne shouted. Annette laughed and as Aro stood she silenced.

"Jane." Aro spoke and Edward was released. He stood up on Adrienne's other side.

"Yes master." Jane said in her little soprano voice.

"Is this about Linny?" I asked her. She did not respond, instead she looked at Aro, who nodded his approval.

"No, not just Linny." She said. "Although, killing my sister was enough to want you dead. No, this is about everything that fell apart thanks to the two of you." She said to us.

"Why don't you tell them your story dear?" Aro said softly to her. She nodded and faced us again.

"It wasn't enough that you tore our coven apart by joining Klaus of all people, but once we thought you died, it got worse. The elders stopped trusting us. My sister, the next great leader was dead and Lucy was distraught. She needed us more than you ever knew. She plagued the city, unable to forgive the Ancestors for what happened to you. I had to take her down. Do you know how that felt Adrienne? Or do you only care about your vampire?" she asked her. Adrienne looked down and then up at her again. I took her hand in mine. Annette stared at our hands while she finished. "Our people never regained their strength and thanks to the deal made with Elijah, we had to live in the same place as the man who nearly destroyed us. I had a vision of you alive as a vampire, but no one believed me. Right then I knew I wanted to find you and make you feel what I felt, but it was impossible. I had no gift for sight; it was luck that sent me the vision. The Elders did not believe me. I had to find a vampire, but not an original. I knew I'd rather die than let them turn me, so I left New Orleans, leaving behind my family and my magic. I finally found what I'd been searching for and when I came to these witches, they showed me that someday you would come, so I turned." She finished.

"And we welcomed her with open arms." Aro said. "Quite a gift she has. The power to make you see you're greatest fears comes true." Aro spoke.

"What do you want from us?" I asked. Edward grew more nervous and I didn't know why. When Aro took Annette's hand I thought I knew. My fear was that my daughter was not safe, that the hollow would take her over. Did they know that too? I looked at Edward from the corner of my eye and he nodded. What else could they know?

"We want justice." Caius spoke, but before he could continue the other brother Marcus stood.

"We do not distribute justice to anyone except for our kind. They've committed no crimes against us, let them be." He said and sat back down. He looked utterly bored.

"Annette is one of us, she deserves penance." Caius added.

"But this all happened before she was a vampire and nearly four hundred years ago, If I might add."

"You may not." Caius argued.

"You are no king of mine, and you've tested my patience enough. We are walking out of here now, or your vampires will have to look for new leaders." I told them. Caius glared at me and I let my hybrid eyes glow fiercely. Aro watched us both as the tension grew. Alec and Jane readied themselves and Felix and Demetri stood firmly at the door. Something won over.

"Peace brother." Aro said. "Can I take by your stance now Edward, that you are done with this ending your life attempts?" Edward nodded and backed away. "If that is all, perhaps we should save the rest for another time." He said. Annette tensed but did not speak, but Caius jumped up from his seat.

"What? You're going to let them go?" he asked.

"Peace brother, Niklaus has a point, our rules do not apply to them." He said smiling. The way Edward tensed I knew better then to trust it. "We'll catch up another time." He finished.

"We will see you soon." Caius agreed. I pulled Adrienne, who remained silent. The two vampires against the door now opened them, their faces very disciplined. Edward disappeared first, and I stole one glance back at them. Annette looked at Adrienne, but her face was not the mask I saw around us, it was pained. Once we were out of their sight I pulled her into my arms and ran after Edward. We ended up on the other side of the wall. I looked at Edward who looked tortured again.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"We should get out of here, but there is no cover for me." He told me. I turned for the first time to Adrienne who looked lost in her own mind.

"Adrienne!" I panicked. "Hey." I shook her. She looked up at me.

"I'm fine." She told me. "I think Alice called." She pulled out her phone and dialed. "Where are you?" she asked. "Pull around the side gate, we'll meet you there, Edward is with us." She said.

"Adrienne." Edward put his hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off.

"Not now, let's get out of here and far away from this God forsaken place." She said. I took her hand, but she let it go and then Alice pulled up. The car was bright and flashy. Both the driver and passengers doors flung open, the girl jumped into Edwards arms.

"What were you thinking?!" she cried while in his arms. "You promised." She told him. Alice came up to us and she looked nothing like I imagined. She hugged Adrienne quickly and shook my hand.

"Thank you for saving my brother." She said to me. I nodded.

"Get them out of here before they come out to find us. We'll meet you at the hotel and then we'll head straight to the airport." Edward was pulling Bella into the car before she could finish her sentence. Alice glided back into the driver's seat and peeled off. Adrienne started walking east. She started running and I ran after her confused. We had escaped with our lives, Edward was safe, why was she so sullen. I thought about Annette's pained face, and how this must affect her. In this life our emotions are heightened, she may have felt her pain a million times over. When we reached the room, the others waited. The fancy car was gone and in its place was a sleek suv. They waited for us. "Let's go." She told them. I drove this time, and Adrienne took the passenger's seat. The rest of them filed into the car and we made our way to the Airport

"What is going on?" I asked. Edward was the one who answered with a tense Alice.

"What happened is that the Volturi never give up easily. They know they can't kill you, but they also know where to find the power to try." He said.

"The hollow? " I asked him. "I'll rip off all their heads if they try to put that into my daughter." I said through my teeth.

"They will not be putting it into your daughter." Alice said.

"Then who? The hollow needs someone powerful but Annette isn't a witch, it would be useless." I said.

"They want to put it into me." Adrienne said while staring out the window.


	12. Chapter 12

Klaus' POV Chapter 12:

We arrived at the airport and waited for the crew to return. In the meantime we sat discussing what had just happened. Edward had not let go of Bella since we reunited them and they sat farthest away whispering at one another in between pauses.

"Tell me again what you heard in their minds." I asked Edward. He pried his eyes away from his beloved and spoke to us.

"They want you dead, not just you, but your entire family. You've caused them a lot of stress during your life, but that's just Aro. Caius hates you because you are a werewolf. He's terrified of werewolves." He told me.

"What about Annette? What did you see in her mind?" Adrienne said. She hadn't spoken much to anyone since we'd left. I sat as close to her as she would allow, knowing I was missing something big. Edward hesitated which she knew meant he knew something. "Tell me." She asked.

"Annette is dangerous. She can see into a subconscious and pull out your greatest fears. She can trap you in there." He told her. "But she's more of a danger to you Adrienne." He said.

"Why?" I asked him.

"She wants me down the path of destruction." Adrienne said. "And if that happens I'll die."

"What do you mean?" I asked her. Edward looked away and Bella looked at him. Adrienne sank down further into her seat. The crew finally arrived and began to prepare for the flight. "No secrets." I whispered to her. Alice watched us carefully. She looked up at me and laid her head on my shoulder.

"Oh for goodness sake, she's an empath." Alice said. They stared at one another.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"She was out of control, slaughtering all those people. She was a monster. When the witches stopped her, they made sure she would never do it again." Alice said.

"It was a bit more complex than that Alice." Edward said. "May I?" he asked Adrienne who nodded. He stood up and sat down closer to us. Bella sat between him and Alice.

"When she found her family, they realized who she was and decided to save her, but she had no humanity. They needed her to flip her switch, so they took her to the one place she couldn't deny." He smiled at her. "They went into her mind and showed her, her real family, her parents. He smiled fuller. "She came back and they told her what had happened to her, but her lust for blood was too strong. They decided to install a failsafe, just in case she ever decided to become the ripper again, they took away her humanity switch and gave her the gift of empathy. She would feel any pain she caused intensified by a million." He finished.

"I felt all her pain, if it wasn't my fault, I wouldn't feel it." She whispered. "Annette became a part of the Volturi to get her revenge." She said.

"We were both the cause of the pain endured back then, but we are not the same people as before." I told her.

"Aren't you?" Alice said. "I mean let's be serious. We just heard about the slaughter you left behind in New Orleans. Who are you kidding?" she told me. "Adrienne is better off in Forks with us or back in her home, not with you." I stared at Alice amazed that a little thing could have such a big mouth.

"Alice." Edward started.

"No Edward, it's alright." I said. "You think I'm the bad guy, you think I'm a bad influence?" she stared at me. "I don't care, everything I do, I do for my family, to survive. I may have caused pain before because it was in my nature but everything that I do now, I do for my daughter. You can sit there and judge me all you want, it doesn't bother me sweetheart." I sat back and smiled.

"Does it bother you that I've already seen your future?" she told me. "Everyone you touch dies or is consumed by darkness, that is your future." She said.

"Enough." Adrienne's voice came out as a two. Alice sat back in her seat. "Stop it. This is exactly why I left Alice. The future you see is not set."

"She sees the path your on while you're on it." Bella finally spoke to us all. Adrienne smiled, unhappily.

"Yes and did she see your path?" Adrienne responded. Edward looked at her angered.

"We need to take a breath." He said. "We are all on edge over what just happened. Let's just sort through what we're going to do." He reminded us.

"What is there to do?" I asked them all. "What exactly is about to happen?"

"I can't see yet, but they're going to try something. Aro and Caius want to get more power. The only way to do that is to place it into a strong enough witch they can control." Alice said.

"We get it first." Adrienne said. "Then we destroy it once and for all. Hopefully that will deter them for a while." She told us. No one looked hopeful. "We need relics, old enough to infuse the hollow into them."

"What's the plan after that?" Edward asked.

"Destroy it, banish it or hide it, we can't let anyone control it." She said.

"But it's in you now?" Alice asked me and I nodded.

"We did it to save my daughter." I reminded her. Then one of the flight attendants came into view.

"We're ready for takeoff Mr. Mikaelson." She said softly.

"Thank you." She nodded and backed away behind the curtain. We all adjusted in our seats. The flight was long and exhausting. The conversation continued on and off until it became too heated to continue in a small aircraft. We were headed to Washington, where hopefully their father figure knew enough about what we were dealing with. They met us at the airport and the tension was clear. Bella was a zombie by the end of the flight. She could barely walk. His family was tense around us. Once off the plane Alice ran to her partner Jasper's side and did not leave it. Carlisle and Esme greeted their family warmly and thanked Bella for her bravery. Esme looked sternly at Edward and when they saw Adrienne they welcomed her home with hugs and warmness. When I was introduced it was cold and distant. We rode in the car with the parents and Alice and Jasper.

"It's great to see you dear." Esme cooed from the front seat. "Have you ever been to Washington, Klaus?" she asked me out of politeness.

"No, I was never drawn to the weather here." I told her honestly.

"It's necessary for our lifestyles." Carlisle said as he drove. I nodded. Adrienne took my hand as she spoke to them.

"Speaking of which, what's going to happen with Edward and Bella?" She said to Alice.

"I'm not sure, it's complicated. Bella is so set in her course; she knows what she wants, but so does Edward." She told her.

"Love is complicated. You can't help who you love." Esme said. She fidgeted in the front seat. After about an hour we arrived in their home. It was simple but extravagant. I admired it. Edward was nowhere to be seen. Obviously he was still with Bella. I had offered to compel her father for him, but he refused. As we walked in I admired the openness of it. Esme turned to us and smiled, a hostess at the ready.

"Your things are in the room on the top floor on the left. I hope it's to your liking." She told her. Adrienne hugged her and took my hand.

"Thank you both. I've missed you all so much, it's good to be here, even if it's only temporary." She said. Carlisle nodded and Esme looked sad, but she hid it well. We made our way up the stairs and to the room. It was tidy and clean. The bedding was white and the room was gray with a lot of pale neutral colors all around. She lay down and looked at me. From the look in her eyes I knew she was waiting on me to speak.

"Are you ready to talk love?" I asked her.

"About what?" she asked me.

"About what the distance was about? It can't be that we argued." I told her.

"I'm sorry about that, I do think of them as my family, and I worry about them when I'm away from them. It's strange it's like I'm two different people." she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. She sat up and I sat in front of her.

"The Adrienne that you knew was fearless and guided by one purpose, Revenge. I used to be a serial killer even before I became a vampire." She told me. "I relished in the darkness and it accepted me as one of its own. When my darkness met yours it was extravagant. I never believed I would find someone that I connected with in that way. It was instantaneous. I was meant to love you." She smiled at me. "But when I became a vampire, the darkness within me strengthened and I became darker than anything I'd ever witnessed before. I had to change to survive; I had to become my opposite to live. When I met the Cullens I was vulnerable, they didn't have to take me in, but when they did they had expectations and those expectations helped me become a person again. The two people I am, struggle now. I want to be true to both, but it's difficult. It's easy to fall into old patterns." She told me.

"You need balance. No one can tell you who you want to be. Where do you want to be? Don't think about me or them." I told her, hoping her heart would prevail. I understood her position. I only had hope to think about and it was complicated enough to not do what I usually did.

"I want to save everyone." She smiled. "But for now, I'll settle for taking a shower." He hopped off the bed and stepped into the bathroom, dropping clothes as she walked. "Are you coming?" she smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

Klaus' POV Chapter 13:

The following day the tension had gone down an octave. Edward had not returned and remained with Bella. Carlisle and Esme at least had seemed to accept the fact that I was here and was not leaving without Adrienne. Alice and Jasper watched me more than usual. Rosalie ignored me and Emmett continuously asked me hybrid questions. Adrienne fit in well, having lived so many years with her surrogate family. We had warned Kol and he was warning everyone else. I told Hailey what we were doing and she promised to keep Hope safe. We had been sitting around the dining room discussing the options we had.

"I think that we should find objects from each sibling's past; a meaningful objects to link the hollow." She suggested. Carlisle looked up from the book he was reading. Esme sat by Adrienne.

"I think that you know more about the subject. I'm not familiar with Dark Objects." He told her.

"Speaking strictly on theory Carlisle." She smiled.

"If the spell that was cast on them needed them to be connected to Hope by blood, than I can only imagine that no ordinary relic would work. But that being said, no matter how memorable the item is, if it's not tied through a spell, I don't see how it would work." He told her. She looked back down at the Grimoire and began flipping through the pages. "Even so the most difficult thing will be to destroy it. It's raw power." He finished. Esme shifted in her seat.

"What if we drain it?" she said in mumbles. She flipped the book open and turned it towards them. From what I saw it was the oldest and darkest spell there. "The hollow is a person at the end of the day. Her soul is not dead, that's why she's able to infect others with it. If I can trap her in an embodiment I can drain her influence." She said.

"But you'd be taking into yourself all her power." I said. Esme reflected my concern.

"Wouldn't that make you vulnerable to the Volturi's plans?" she asked her.

"Of course not, if I can take it in, like I used to, then we have time to figure out how to destroy the excess." She said.

"In order to do that you would have to tap into the magic that you haven't used in four hundred years." I stated. She looked at me and then at Esme. Carlisle spoke first.

"You would put yourself at risk Adrienne. The empathy would kill you and the hollow would be free." He told her.

"Perhaps I could find another witch." She mumbled again looking at the book.

"Perhaps we could find a different way dear." Esme said and Adrienne nodded.

"How about we focus on creating containment for the hollow and then we can worry about destroying it." I told her. She nodded.

"We need objects, things that you haven't let go of in all your years for each of you." She told me.

"I know that Rebekah keeps the first ring my mother made her." I said. "As for Kol and Elijah, that may be difficult."

"I know something Kol's kept. I'll call him." She stood up and walked over to the hall as she dialed. As she explained to Kol what was needed, Alice and Jasper walked inside. Alice's expression went blank and Jasper clutched her hand. He stood in front of her and they shared a silent conversation. Her eyes veered to Adrienne and she looked worried. When our eyes met I knew she had a vision and it had to do with Adrienne. I walked towards her, but she turned around and disappeared into the forest. I looked back; Adrienne was still talking to Kol. Carlisle was flipping through the pages of the book, but Esme looked at me with concern. I ran after them. It didn't take me long to find them. They were within the forest, far enough that I couldn't hear the others in the house.

"What did you see?" I asked her. Their heads snapped up and Jasper stood in front of her.

"That's none of your business." She responded.

"If it has to do with Adrienne it's my business."

"It doesn't." She responded.

"Now, why don't you go on back to the house?" Jasper said in a southern accent. I shook my head. "Back off." He told me.

"You don't know me." I told him.

"We know plenty." Alice said. I appeared in front of her and Jasper tried to push me out of the way, but I held onto his arm and pushed him into the nearest tree. When I took him by the throat, I compelled him and I surprised myself. I didn't think it would work. Alice stood shocked, it was easy to compel her to calm down and tell me the truth.

"What did you see?" I asked her. When she responded she sounded lifeless.

"Adrienne will take in the Hollow and it will destroy her."

"How?" I asked her.

"I don't know, but she's in Volterra when it happens." She told me. I took a step back and tried to process this. Jasper stood by Alice and I took the opportunity to compel them both.

"Forget our conversation, and forget your vision." I said to her. "Forget it all." I told them and disappeared before they came to. I made my way to the house quickly and Adrienne stood outside waiting for me.

"Where have you been?" She asked me.

"I went to try and find Alice, but I couldn't." I told her. She stared up at me.

"Kol is sending me his relic and he's told Rebekah the same. Elijah doesn't have a clue who you are, but Kol is pretty sure a chessboard that's in New Orleans would do it. The difficult part would be getting his blood."

"I have that taken care of." I told her, she looked at me oddly. "I keep it as reassurance. My siblings and I were linked once. I have it to break it if ever necessary." I explained.

"Great, where do you keep it?" she asked me.

"I'll have it here by tomorrow and my relic as well." I told her.

"What is your relic?" she asked me. I pulled her towards me.

"An engagement ring, that I've had for a very long time." I told her.

"Oh." Was all she said. Alice and Jasper arrived and walked inside without saying one word. Adrienne sucked in a deep breath and dropped to her knees holding her head. The other's appeared without having to be called. Alice bent down in front of her.

"What is it?" she asked her. "Show me." She took her hands and closed her eyes.

"He's close. How did he know we were here?" Adrienne asked. "Stop!" she spoke and her eyes went white. Alice's eyes did the same and she remained perfectly still.

"Who's close?" I asked her and their eyes closed again and they let go of one another. They stood and everyone stared at her.

"He was trying to find me, but they're using some pretty strong magic to find me." She said. "I couldn't let go." She said.

"Who?!" I almost shouted. She smiled at me and Alice stepped around me and stood next to Esme.

"Is this an enemy? The Volturi?" Emmett asked. She shook her head.

"I don't think he's an enemy, but I knew him so long ago, I could be wrong." She said. "What would Marcel want with me now?" she asked me.

"Marcel is coming here? He did this?" I asked her.

"He doesn't know I'm alive, but he suspects. Their tracking me somehow and I think it's this." She lifted her arm and showed me the makeshift bracelet. I was surprised to have not recognized it before. It was the backing to one of Marcel's books as a child. It has been twisted and sewn together to make a bracelet.

"Why is he coming here? Why would he leave Rebekah alone? Is he bringing her with him? I asked out loud to no one. Adrienne put her hand on my cheek and I calmed down.

"Should we be preparing for a fight or a guest?" Rosalie asked.

"There are too many unanswered questions." I said.

"We can ask him once he gets here tomorrow. And he's coming alone" Adrienne told me.

"Tomorrow?" I asked her and she nodded. She did not look frightened or in shock, she looked excited. I knew that to her, she was slowly getting her family back, but Marcel was not the innocent boy she had left all those years ago and his intentions for this trip frightened me.


	14. Chapter 14

Klaus' POV- Ch. 14:

All night Adrienne tossed and turned, finally I had to enter her mind and help calm her down. She was anxious but excited for his arrival. We didn't talk about the consequences if this was an unfriendly visit. This morning however was all hands on deck. The entire family, including Edward was there. He had to leave Bella in the care of the wolves, which he did not like, but Adrienne had asked him to be there. I wondered how Marcel had tracked her here. How did he know she was alive? I worried for her; he was not the same boy she left all those years ago.

"He's coming." Alice said ominously. Adrienne stepped forward to the door, but I took her hand. I kissed her cheek and walked towards the door myself. Emmett and Rosalie took a step closer to her, shielding her if necessary. She rolled her eyes and I smiled. Three knocks came against the front door and I opened it. His eyes widened and he took a step back.

"Klaus, what are you doing here?" he asked me.

"I should be asking you the same question Marcel. Didn't you ever want to see me again?" I asked him.

"I wasn't looking for you." He told me.

"Who were you looking for?" I asked him and he smiled at me.

"Of course you're involved in this. Why am I not surprised? I start having these dreams a few weeks ago. About when I was a kid and I started to feel drawn somewhere only I didn't know where. How weird is it that you happen to be at the end of the bread crumbs." He smiled.

"You have it wrong Marcel. Why would you just follow a feeling?" I asked him. He looked embarrassed to answer. "Who are you looking for?" I asked him. He looked at me strangely and with anger.

"I'm going to sound crazy, but if I didn't follow it, I knew it would haunt me. I thought it might be Adrienne." He said.

"Why would you want to see her?" I asked him and it was the wrong question to ask.

"She's alive? I guess it's just another Mikaelson secret right?" he told me taking another step back. "How could you keep that from me?" he asked me.

"You mean the way you kept it from me that you and Rebekah had rekindled your relationship. That you left New Orleans, gave it over to Vincent?"

"Rebekah told you!" he yelled. "And that is none of your business, what goes on between Rebekah and me is between Rebekah and me!" he said like a petulant child.

"But you didn't!" I responded. "Than what are you doing here? Go live your lives, it's what you wanted, a life without interruptions from the big bad Klaus Mikaelson." I told him, baiting him.

"Do you really want to test my patience? I could kill you!" he told me.

"You could try." I told him, when he lunged at me Adrienne appeared and he stopped himself quickly.

"Marcellus." she said. His face dropped. He looked at her, as I probably had, like he'd seen a ghost. He looked at me for a split second, accusingly and took another step towards her. She closed the gap unable to wait and hugged him. He stood numb for a moment looking at me with anger, and then his hands wrapped around her and closed his eyes. I took a step back and attempted to give them a moment but he called out to me.

"No, I know you have something to do with this. Explain this." He told me. Adrienne sighed.

"So much has changed." She muttered. "Come on in, we have a lot to talk about." She said. We followed her. There was no hate in his eyes towards her. Adrienne had been a surrogate mother to him as I was as a father. Only she was much better than I. She would speak to him for hours and teach him things that I could not. She used to be untouchable to the rest of the quarter, but Marcel was always loved by her. We came inside and she started to point everyone out. "This is Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and Edward." He nodded. "Everyone this is Marcellus, or do you prefer Marcel now?" she smiled. They excused themselves except for Alice and Jasper. She looked at Edward who nodded and disappeared. We sat down and she hugged him again.

"How are you alive?" he asked directly and then looked at me.

"What do you remember about that time?" she asked him.

"All of it."

"When they came for me, do you remember what I told you?" he nodded.

"What did you tell him?" I asked, interrupting. He looked up at me and rolled her eyes.

"When the witches came for me, they had enchantments. Marcel and I were in his room when the ruckus started. He was terrified, but I knew I couldn't fight, I was too weak. I put him to sleep, and told him that I would always keep him safe, but that I would have to leave him."

"She cast a spell on me. I was asleep and a barrier came up around me, but when it broke, I woke up and you were dead. I heard them talking about you." she nodded to him. "You saved me." He told her.

"Does Rebekah know why you're here?" I asked him.

"She knows I'm looking for something, but we didn't know what." He told me. "Why?" he asked me. Adrienne looked at me and then at Marcel. "What am I missing?" he asked her.

"The reason the witches were able to get so close to me, is because Elijah and Rebekah let them." She said. "They thought I was going to ruin your lives." She told him.

"What? No Rebekah wouldn't do that." He told her, but his face betrayed him. He looked at her and then at me. When I nodded he stood up. "Tell me everything." He said. In the next hour she tried to explain everything to him as nicely as possible. She didn't want him to be angry, she wasn't angry with them anymore. It seemed that we were able to move a step forward. My relationship with my surrogate son had deteriorated, he hated me. He sat listening quietly. He asked no questions. She begged him to let it go, as she had with me.

"We lost so much time." He told her.

"The beauty of immortality is we always have more time." I muttered, he looked up at me and nodded.

"It's all very complicated." Alice spoke for the first time since we sat down. "You all live very complicated lives." She commented.

"You don't know the half of it." Marcel said and it brought a smile to my face. "Where do we go from here? I can't keep this from Rebekah." He said.

"I don't expect you to." She told him. "I know you have a life built without me, but now that you've come into my life again, I'd like to stay in touch." She told him. He took her hand. "It may have been hundreds of years ago, but you and Niklaus were the closest thing to family I had in my human life." He hugged her abruptly.

"We are family." He told her. The innocence that I believed to be long gone showed through. "We'll figure it out." He told her. His phone started to buzz and he reached into his pocket and looked up. "It's Rebekah, I should get this." He told her and stepped outside to take the call. She looked at me and smiled.

"I feel whole." She whispered. "As long as I have been on this earth, I've never thought that I would be so happy in the middle of so much happening." Alice smiled at her. The hours that followed were spent reminiscing. I always knew Adrienne was an amazing person, but to hear how much she reached Marcel as a child moved me. It gave me hope for the future. My daughter was now the most important person to me, and having Adrienne back was great, but it would mean nothing if she could not accept Hope. We ended the night in a too soon good-bye. Marcel was outside, hesitating as he walked. She held his hand.

"It's alright. We'll see each other soon. Let's get past this latest threat and then I promise I will come see you. Who knows maybe after you speak to Rebekah, we'll have a chance to become friends." She smiled and he laughed.

"Maybe, just be careful and you take care of her this time." He told me. Unexpectedly after hugging her he came to me and hugged me too.

"I will." I whispered to him and he nodded and got into his car and left. We watched him as he exited the winding driveway. It was a light time for the moment. Alice was still hesitant around me, but the others began warming to me. Edward brought Bella to the house more often. In the week that followed all the ingredients for the ciphering spell were here. Tonight was the full moon. We went to a meadow that Edward suggested. It was naturally symmetrical. They were all here while Bella remained with the wolves, who refused to meet the hybrid. She set up candles in a circle in the center of the circle. My item was a right, which she now wore to capture the hollow. The others hung around the outside of the circle, in case the power of the hollow overwhelmed us. She stood holding a dagger in one hand where she wore the ring.

"Are you ready?" she asked me. "The moon is reaching its apex." She told me. I nodded and stepped forward. Alice was the only one allowed within the circle. She watched us with a worried expression on her face. She was to look ahead in our future to see if something went wrong.

"I'm ready." It would not be pleasant. Her ability to steal the life force from people was only able to be done after causing great physical pain. She cut her palms with the dagger and placed it on the makeshift altar. "I trust you." I told her. With pain in her eyes, she sank her fingers into my sides and I yelped out in pain. "I'm alright keep going." She started to chant and called on the moon and the earth. I dropped down to my knees as she began pulling it into her.

"Dans l'esprit de la lune, et de la terre, j'appelle la sanctification, je m'offre comme un homage." She repeated it over and over again. The hollow did not want to leave; it gripped within me, pulling me apart from within. It was futile, but she continued. I screamed out in agony. She pulled one hand out and with tears in her eyes gripped the pendant she wore around her neck. "Dans l'esprit de la lune, et de la terre, j'appelle la sanctification, je m'offre comme un homage." She said every word slowly and loudly and finally it released. I felt lighter as it left my body; she let me go as it did and focused all her energy on the second part. "Je te jette dehors, cela te confine à travers les esprits." She started whispering as the blue fog entered the ring. "les ancêtres voient cela à travers, je fais appel à toute ma ligne" she said louder. She continued to chant until the last of the fog vanished into the ring. It glowed blue now instead of the clear diamond it had been. She sucked in a deep breath and her eyes fogged over again. "Elle n'a pas été pardonnée." She said in a hollowed out voice. My wounds had healed, but I was weak. I sank down next to her. Alice hovered nervously.

"Adrienne." I called out when she came to. The candles around us went out. She looked up at me.

"It worked." She said prying the ring from her finger and placing it inside the wooden box next to her. She breathed heavy and Alice helped her stand.

"What was that?" Alice asked her while helping me up as well. Adrienne looked up at her confused.

"I did it." She answered.

"Adrienne you just said, she is not forgiven." Alice said.

"I did not." She said and then looked at me. "Did I?" I nodded worried, but too weak to process.

"Was that the spirits?" Alice asked.

"Maybe they meant the Hollow." She replied. She turned to me. "How do you feel?" she said taking my face in both her hands. "Are you in pain? Is she gone?" she asked me.

"I'm fine love, it tried to rip me apart, but you got it out." I told her. She kissed me softly. "Thank you." I whispered in her ear.


	15. Chapter 15

Klaus' POV Ch.15:

In the weeks that followed all had been calm. The Hollow in me was trapped inside the ring and it showed no signs of weakening. I felt great and Adrienne worked tirelessly to charm the other relics. We were going to Kol first to remove the hollow from him. If done in a timely manner, we would be able to rid ourselves of the hollow once and for all, making Hope safe for always from it. Something was after Bella, but the vampire had been tricky. We tried to help, but the fight between the wolves and the Cullens had too much history. They didn't want to see me; they couldn't understand me as a hybrid. They believed in magic, but had no true history besides their own. Adrienne spent today creating a spell for Bella; in it her human life would be protected. She was resistant, not having spent much time with us, but Edward convinced her. When we left Edward and Adrienne shared wordless goodbye, while Esme held onto us both tightly.

"You be careful." She told her.

"Both of you." Carlisle added. Adrienne was teary, but it was not their fight. She wanted to keep them safe. Alice hugged her and whispered something into her ear. We were hopeful we would find a way to stop the bad things from happening, but just in case goodbyes were necessary. We drove closer and closer to Mystic Falls on our way to her home in Florida. My heart nearly leapt out when I saw the sign for Virginia, but it was out of the question.

"That's where your daughter is?" she asked me, while she stared out the window. I nodded. "You should go to her." She said. She didn't look at me.

"It's dangerous." I replied.

"You're free of the hollow. There's no immediate danger to her or you." She said to me. "Go to her." She encouraged me. "I'll keep going to Florida, and you meet us there later." She said. The disappointment must have been apparent in my face.

"Aren't you going with me?" I asked her.

"No, love. I know how much Hope means to you and although you're not a threat to her any more, I don't want to bring any part of the hollow near her. I'll go ahead and you spend some time with Hope." She told me.

"We are right outside of Virginia; I'll leave you outside of town and be on my way." She told me.

"Are you sure you can handle this alone?" I asked her. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"I have been on my own for quite some time. And I won't be alone for more than a day." She reminded me.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"Go see your daughter Nik, go tell her everything is going to be alright now." She said and I took her hand and kissed it. We drove through the state and when we reached close to the town's edge she pulled over. I kissed her exaggeratedly and when we tore apart she smiled.

"Call me when you get there and if anything happens to you, I am holding you personally responsible." I told her sternly.

"Nothing's going to happen, I promise." She said. When she left, I waited for the car to disappear before I headed into town. It looked different to me. It made me sort of happy to know that my daughter was growing up where I grew up. I made my way through the town and towards the boarding house. To my surprise Hailey and Caroline were outside talking on the porch. As I approached they both stood up and took defensive positions.

"Calm down." I told them.

"What the hell are you doing here Klaus? Are you crazy?" Hailey spouted.

"What about your daughter?" Caroline added.

"If you would let me speak, then I would tell you." I said. "It worked Hailey. The hollow is gone from inside me."

"How is that possible?" she asked.

"Can we talk?" she straightened out and looked at Caroline.

"It's alright. Keep Hope inside, we'll be back soon." She told her. When we walked away we made it into the clearing just inside the woods. She turned abruptly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, talk."

"I just wanted to see my daughter. I don't plan on kidnapping her or forcing her to massacre a town. Remember for a second that she is my daughter too." I told her. She stared at me. "I came in touch with someone from my past, she's a witch. She found a way to extract the hollow from within me and put it in something else, like the bones." I told her.

"You mean your girlfriend?" she asked me. "Hope told me that you really care about her." Hailey said.

"I do, but beyond my feelings she can help us destroy the hollow. You and Hope don't have to do anything, you don't have to leave, just know that I'm doing everything I can to be in Hope's life too." I told her.

"I know, and I wish it was that simple." She told me. "Hope's happy here, she has friends and she's learning to control her magic." She smiled. "She's really gifted and when you get rid of the hollow, I just need you to understand that it won't go back to the way it was. I will not let her miss her childhood, because of your enemies." I nodded. It was the same fight I'd had with her since the beginning. I didn't want to fight with her. The truth was I admired Hailey. She always kept our daughter safe.

"I don't want that either. I'm not saying I'll stay away from her like I had to since this all began, but I am saying that I will keep her safe, even if that means staying away when it's necessary." I told her. She looked at me surprised.

"She must be pretty powerful." She smiled.

"She's strong enough." I told her as we headed back. Hailey turned to me and hugged me.

"It's good to see you." She told me, when we walked up Caroline was there waiting. "It's alright Caroline; he's just here to see Hope." Caroline uncrossed her arms.

"Did you miss me Caroline?" I asked her. "I see you put the money to good use." I pointed out.

"Yes, that was very generous of you." She smiled at me.

"I was sorry to hear about Stefan." I told her sincerely.

"Thank you." She said. "Come on in, they should be finishing up and coming down for lunch." She said. When I walked inside it had been renovated. Some kids floated around. From the stairway I heard girls laughing and I looked up to see my daughter see me. Her face lit up and she ran at full force down the stairs and into my waiting arms. Now I was complete. This is what I felt I was missing.

"Daddy!" she cooed. Hailey stood behind us and the other kids stared.

"Hello sweetheart." I said. "Are you surprised to see me?" I asked her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked me.

"I wanted to see you and I've come to tell you, it's all going to be alright." I told her. She hugged me and then took my hand and sat me down next to her as she ate. Hailey sat with us too, but then left to go check on some kids. We spoke about her classed and teachers and classmates. It was all very surreal. Here she was living a charmed and normal life, without worries about anything else. I wanted very much for her to remain safe. When her classed begun again I walked around outside and called Adrienne. It went to voicemail. "Hello love, I just saw Hope, she's doing great. She went to class, so I am going to explore the town. Please call me as soon as you arrive. I love you." I said in the message. I spent the day with my daughter, once her classes were finished. It was sensational how much I missed her and how quick our routine began. We walked every morning for the first few days; while I showed her my favorite places that I went to as a child, though most of them had changed. It was today when we went to the falls and sat down to talk.

"Tell me about your friend." She told me when Adrienne's name came up.

"What would you like to know?" I asked her.

"What is she like? How long have you known her? Do you love her?" she asked and I laughed.

"Slow down little one. Alright she is beautiful. I met her in New Orleans when we first arrived there. She is fiercely loyal to the ones she loves. She is funny and brave and loving." I told her.

"And you love her?" she asked smiling.

"Very much." I answered.

"And she loves you." She stated. It wasn't a question, but an observation. "I'm happy that you found someone daddy." She said. "I don't want you to be alone." She said.

"I am never alone sweetheart, even when I 'm not here with you, I always have you." She smiled.

"I love you daddy." She said

"And I love you princess." I told her. That night after I tucked her in, I caught up with Caroline. She sat on the porch and waited for me.

"You're different." She said to me.

"How so?" I asked her.

"I don't know. Maybe it has more to do with Hope. She's such a sweet kid by the way." She said.

"Thank you. She's my everything." I explained. "Quite a place you've built here." I told her.

"You have to give them a chance, you know?" she said. "There is so much evil in the world, hopefully this place helps as many kids as possible." She told me.

"Are you happy?" she smiled when I asked.

"Yes. I have my girls and Rick and this place, not all the time every day, but yes I'm very happy." She told me. "How about you?"

"Ask me when all this is over." I told her. My phone buzzed in my pocket. "Excuse me." I told her and answered it.

"Am I interrupting something?" Adrienne asked when I answered.

"Just speaking with an old friend." I told her. Caroline smiled and walked inside. "How are you today?"

"I've been in better." She said. Something was off about her voice.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing love, Rebekah and Marcel aren't answering me, do you have any idea where they might be?" she asked me.

"They were going to England today, remember?" I told her. Something didn't feel right. "Why are you asking?"

"I was going to wait patiently for your family to mess up and reunite me, but instead I get this hybrid. It's worth the wait." She said. I wasn't talking to the hollow.

"How is this possible?" I asked through my teeth.

"Your girl messed with some pretty dark magic to get me out of you, which opened up the door enough for me to seep through, I couldn't control her, but I could watch. Now that I'm in control, I'll reunite the rest of my magic and then I'm coming for all of you, including your precious daughter and her mother." She told me. I didn't get to speak, the phone went dead. I dialed Kol's phone and got no answer. I ran inside to Hailey. When she saw me, she stood looking around for the apparent danger.

"What is Davina's number?" I asked her. "I need to see if they're alright." I explained in non-threatening words. I didn't want to scare the children. Hailey passed me her phone. I dialed and it went straight to voicemail.

"What happened?" she asked me.

"The hollow is free." I told her while I ran upstairs to get my things and she followed me.

"What do you mean it's free? How the hell did that happen?" she yelled.

"We underestimated her power again." I told her grabbing my things and throwing them in my bag.

"I'm getting Hope out of here." She said.

"No!" I told her. "There's a long time before she could get the rest of her magic, we have time. Hope finally has a chance at a normal life." I told her. "You and Hope stay here and live your lives, I will make sure you are both safe."

"How will you do that?" she said.

"However I have to, even if it kills me." I told her. We looked into each other's eyes and she hugged me. It was an understanding between parents. We would protect our daughter no matter what. 


	16. Chapter 16

Klaus' POV Ch.16:

I drove like a madman in the car I'd stolen. I made the trip in half the time it usually took. It was hard to find the house I'd never been to, but the directions I had gotten seemed fairly easy. When I arrived I noticed it was in the middle of nowhere. The closest neighbor was acres away. The house was big but not overly grand and there was no car in the driveway. I tried to listen for any signs of movement, but I couldn't hear a thing. I walked around the house when the front door failed to open and found the sliding glass door opened. I walked right through and saw what looked like a massacre. Blood was scattered throughout the home and blood stained handprints lead down the hall and into a room. I opened the door and found Davina clutching Kol, pressing down on his stomach to suppress the bleeding.

"Help him!" she cried to me. I knelt down and took a closer look. His wound was opening on its own after healing itself. Kol himself was unconscious.

"Did she use a spell?" I asked her and she nodded. "Can you break it?" I asked her.

"I don't have magic here, I'm not home." She told me. And I nodded. I looked around.

"Keep holding him in place, where is Adrienne's room?" she pointed me down the hall. The room was locked and I had to kick it open to get inside. I rummaged through the room, until I found a loose floorboard and a chest. I pulled out an amulet and ran into the other room. "Use this. You can use the magic inside." I told her and she grabbed the amulet and closed her eyes and began chanting. It was intense, but ultimately Kol sucked in an exaggerated breath and sat up alone. Davina threw herself into his arms and he held her tightly while looking at me.

"Nik? How did you get here so fast?" he asked me.

"It's been more than ten hours since she called me. How did this happen?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure, one minute she's casting the spell and taking the hollow and the next she's stabbing me with a cursed object." He said.

"The hollow's taken her over; even she can't fight that level of power." Davina said.

"Where is she going?" Kol asked me.

"What else? She wants to find Rebekah and Elijah." I told them.

"We have to stop her." Davina said. Kol looked up at her. "No, Kol, I can't keep hiding out hoping they don't find me. I can find her. If you have more things like this, I can track her down." She said holding up the amulet. I nodded.

"Nik, wait." He said as we stood up. "What's the plan here?" he asked me nervously. He looked at Davina again and then at me.

"The plan is we find her, and get it out of her." I told him.

"And if we can't separate her." Kol said. I looked away unable to speak the words, but knowing they were true. If the hollow could not be stopped by removing her from Adrienne, then Adrienne would have to be stopped by any means. I waited in Adrienne's room while they packed, and found Davina more objects. On the bottom of the old box I found a silk bag and inside I found the last thing I had given her. It was a necklace and the diamond was shaped like a rose. It was still bright and a little outdated, but she kept it and so I brought it with me, determined to give it to her again. As we drove to the closest airport, Rebekah finally called.

"What's happened Nik?" She asked me.

"In laments terms, the hollow is back and you're her next target." I told her. "It's taken over Adrienne's body." I told her.

"That's just great." She said. "Where is she now?" she asked me.

"We don't know, but we are on our way. Just keep moving. Don't stay in one place too long." I told her.

"This is just like Mikael, how do you know she's not after Elijah? We should just kill her and end this." she said and my anger flared.

"You will not touch her. Fraya is working on it. She's looking for him and trying to cloak him until we can get to you." I snapped at her. "Where are you right now?" I asked her.

"We just arrived in London." She said.

"Tell her to go to our old haunt from this summer. It's spelled no one can track you there." Kol muttered.

"Did you hear that?" I asked her.

"Yes, I'll wait for you there." She told me.

"Alright be safe." I told her and hung up. "We have to get there before Adrienne does."

"I'm contacting the airlines now, by the time we get there, we'll be in the air." Kol said.

"How are we going to take that thing out of her?" Davina whispered to me while Kol argued on the phone.

"Adrienne had a plan; she hoped she could weaken it enough to entomb it. I'm hoping if I can get through to her for even a second, she could do it herself." I told her.

"That's a lot of trust to give someone who's possessed by the devil." She said. "But if anyone can do it, it'd be Adrienne." We drove faster then and when we arrived at the airport, we were literally boarding two minutes before take-off. In the air all I could do was worry. I was angry that I left my plane with Edward in Washington. I thought about calling them, but with all the terrible things I thought it best not to.

"Should we tell the Cullens?" I asked Kol. Davina lay on his shoulder.

"They would want to know." Kol suggested. "But tell them not to come; we are all taking a huge risk as it is." He told me, his eyes veering to Davina. I reached for the phone in front of my seat and called Edward's phone. He answered quickly.

"Edward." I said. "I don't have a lot of time to explain this, but Adrienne has been taken over by the Hollow. If she calls you don't answer, if she comes by, run." I told him.

"What? How did this happen?" he asked me.

"It's all too complicated. We are doing everything possible to save her, I promise." I told him.

"This couldn't have happened at a worse time." He said to me.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Let's just say things have taken a turn for the worse here. As soon as we are past it, we will help you. Keep us updated."

"Of course." I hung up and impatiently waited for the flight to be over. This was killing me. Not knowing if my family was alright and the possibility of losing her just when I got her back was devastating. I tried to think about my options, but however I saw it I was doomed. I tried to close my eyes and ease my mind, but my mind had other plans. I saw her there and she called out to me to save her, but when I reached her the hollow showed through and she would attack me. It repeated in my mind in different scenarios. When I opened my eyes again, I found that I had drifted off for hours. The flight was almost through. I covered my face in my hands and let the anxiety fall over me. I was frantic to keep her, restless to save her, and yearning to fix this. The guilt that clouded my mind was smothering me. I felt Kol put his hand on my shoulder and I felt Davina move closer and take my hand.

"It's going to be alright Nik." Kol whispered.

"We won't give up." Davina said. I nodded and they adjusted back, still staring at me. How desperate did Klaus Mikaelson have to be, for Davina to feel sorry for him? I hated what my life had become.

When we arrived in London, Kol had arranged for a car to be there waiting. It drove quicker than most, using back roads and hidden passages. Kol had told me that this club was meant to be a vampire safe haven. It was elite and private, and best of all magically hidden from prying eyes. I tried to stay calm, because we hadn't heard from Rebekah or Marcel since we landed. When we finally arrived at the compound we were brought in through a back exit. Kol seemed to know his way and we followed him inside.

"Stay here love." He told Davina when he opened the door. I smelled what he did, blood and a lot of it. "Please." He told her. She nodded and headed back to the car where the driver waited patiently. We walked inside and the gore that I saw had never before made me feel this way. It was always just a part of my world, but knowing that Adrienne was responsible, in her body at least was enough to hurt my brain. Every vampire inside this compound was dead, but the way they died this was meant to be a message. Their hearts were ripped from their chests and their bodies were covered in tears. She was taking their life forces and then ripping out their hearts. There were more than twenty vampires here dead. Rebekah and Marcel were not among the ones dead, we searched everywhere for them. My anger flared and I punched through a wall. Davina called out from outside and Kol appeared in front of the door to shield her. Once outside I let the air hit me and tried to clear my head. I felt the pain, like tunde's blade piercing inside me. I was going to lose her again and put my family, especially my daughter, in danger again. I didn't know what this was, but I was having trouble breathing. I put my hands on the car for support and tried to take deep slow breathes. Kol and Davina watched me, but didn't try to intervene. I didn't like feeling this way. I felt weak and out of control. I couldn't lose any of them. I couldn't put my daughter at risk of the hollow. I needed to save them and I had to get past the mental block of hurting Adrienne. I didn't want to hurt her, but if it meant stopping the hollow, I had to. The ache in my chest flared and I dropped to one knee. What was this? Why was I reacting this way? I thought I knew why, she was my other half. The person that I loved and I was going to have to take her life, after just getting her back. Was this my life, I was only allowed a few months of happiness before everything was ripped from me?

"Nik, Davina thinks she knows where they are. She senses Marcel." He told me. I stood up slowly working past the pain I felt. I nodded to him and got into the car and waited. They joined me, both overly cautious.

"I've never seen you this way." Kol whispered while Davina told the driver where to go. "Well once." He told me.

"I don't think I've ever felt this way. I've never wanted to save something so bad." I admitted. "If I don't save Adrienne and the Hollow takes her over, I lose her and we are all doomed, including Hope. In order to save my daughter, I have to kill Adrienne."

"It doesn't seem fair either way." He said. "But we will try everything in our power before it comes to that. We will try everything, and if we fail, then take some peace in knowing, you won't have to hurt her yourself." He told me. I looked at my brother and he placed his hand on my shoulder. It was the closest I felt to Kol in a thousand years.

"We're here." Davina said. When the car pulled up Rebekah and Marcel walked towards it, looking beaten.

"Well, it's about time." Rebekah said.


	17. Chapter 17

Klaus' POV Ch.17:

Davina and Kol opened the old apartment. We walked inside unable to speak. Marcel was weak, and Rebekah was angry. When we sat down, Kol stepped outside to call Fraya and Davina hugged Marcel.

"What happened?" Davina whispered, but we all heard her speaking. Marcel looked at all of us and then down at Davina.

"It was crazy. She took them all down at once, it was horrible to watch. While she drained the life out of them she gained more power. We barely got out of there. She ripped out the power from Rebekah and then simultaneously ripped out all their hearts. She pinned us to the wall and started ripping the power from Rebekah. When she was getting her power she was distracted and we ran." He told us. "How are we supposed to stop her? Adrienne has too much power now." He told me.

"What if you bite her?" Rebekah suggested. "Maybe what she needs is a dose of her family lineage come to end her miserable life." She said.

"Are you talking about the Hollow or Adrienne?" Marcel asked.

"Is there a difference?" We all stared at her but Davina spoke first.

"Of course there is a difference. One of them plans to kill your family and the other sacrificed her happiness to save your family." She told Rebekah. "Whatever your issues with her are, I suggest you get over them, because she is not the same person you knew and she loves them more than anything in this world." She pointed to Marcel and I. Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"You don't know her Davina; you can't think that a few months with her that you can know everything there is to know about her." Now Davina rolled her eyes.

"And you can't think that in all the years that you've walked on this earth, that people are incapable of changing." She told her. Davina walked outside with Kol, unable to continue fighting.

"Perhaps you should stay behind Rebekah." I suggested. She looked at me with shock and then at Marcel.

"We want to save Adrienne, if we can't and only after we have tried everything, then we will stop her. It's not her fault that this is happening." I told her.

"No, but it's not my fault that this is happening either. I can't help if I don't trust her." She told me.

"What matters is that we have to save her." Marcel said. "We owe her a chance to live her life the way she wants without inference." He spoke only to Rebekah. After a second she nodded.

"I don't like her Nik, but you can trust me to help you save her." She told me. Kol and Davina walked inside and looked at us oddly.

"Fraya hasn't been able to track him down, but she knows that he was in California last." Kol told us.

"That's good, we can beat her there." Marcel said.

"But that leaves too many places. She's obviously tracking something. London is a big place; she wouldn't know where you were headed. How did she find you?" I asked them.

"Maybe she's tracking her power." Davina suggested. "If she's trying to find Elijah that way, I may be able to track them both the same way." She said, pulling out the amulet and a small dagger from her bag. "I'll need a map." She told us and since this was my old place I rummaged through the drawers until I found it. I laid out the world mad. "I'll need the blood from two of you." Kol gave her his hand at the same time I gave her mine. She smiled at us both and cut out palms. "Let it fall on opposite ends of the map." She said and then closed her eyes. She whispered as she held the amulet tightly and the blood began to move. Kol's blood moved from California over the ocean and towards Europe, from the direction it was headed I was say France or Italy. My blood moved towards the same direction.

"Italy?" I asked. "The Volturi." I stated. Davina sucked in a breath and it caught in her throat.

"Davina!" we all shouted.

"What's wrong?!" Kol panicked and she fell back into his arms. "Davina, please." I stumbled back while they hovered.

"Listen Kol." I said. He stared at me. "She's alive." I heard her steady heart. Whatever had triggered her to faint hadn't killed her. "Take her hand." He did as I suggested and I took her other hand and together we appeared in her subconscious. It appeared to be the old church attic, in New Orleans.

"Kol!" she yelled and jumped into his arms.

"Davina what happened to you?" I asked her.

"The hollow doesn't want you to find them." She said. "I felt her in me, she tried to kill me, but." She ended her sentence there leaving me wondering.

"But what?" Kol asked.

"I think Adrienne saved me." She said. "I felt this darkness trying to suffocate me one second and then the next this light was putting me here. It was faint, but I thought I heard her voice."

"What did she say?" I asked her.

"She told me, not to fight it, when the hollow is dead I'll be free." She said. Kol and Davina looked into each other's eyes.

"I should have protected you." He blamed himself.

"I'm alright." She told him. "Go find her and bring her home." She told him.

"We'll get you out of here Davina." I told her and then I left her mind. Marcel and Rebekah were staring at us. "She's trapped in her own mind." I told them. "The only way to free her is to kill the Hollow." I said. "But now I know where they are going. Italy, to the Volturi." I said. Rebekah followed me out.

"What's the plan Nik?" she asked me.

"Someone has to stay here with Davina; the rest of us will go to Italy. I think they may have Elijah already."

"We don't know that." Rebekah said. "He could just be travelling." She said.

"And his location is protected from Fraya?" Marcel said. "Kol can stay and protect Davina." He said, but Kol had joined us again.

"No, I'm going too." He told us. "I can't leave this alone. We all have something or someone to lose in this fight. I have to go, if Annette is there, I'm your best bet in reaching her." He told us.

"I'm going." Marcel said. "I don't plan on losing anyone else." He said to Rebekah. She smiled at him.

"Will you stay here and protect her?" Kol asked Rebekah seriously.

"Of course." She told us. "But you better all come back to me." She threatened. "Or else." We left later on with a ready mission. Destroy the hollow, there was no other choice. We decided to take the train, to Italy. It would give us time to plot our next move. Now that Fraya knew where we were it was easy for her to cloak Rebekah and Davina's location. For the time they were safe. I pulled out my phone and checked my messages. I'd had four missed calls from Edward. I called him now as we settled in.

"Klaus." Alice's voice surprised me. "What happened?"

"I could ask you the same, why are you calling me? Where is Edward?" I asked her.

"Edward is with Bella right now, we just had a visit from the Volturi Guard and he had to hide her until they left. But when they did leave I saw something. Your brother Elijah was taken by them." She said. "I saw Adrienne killing him." She told me.

"Didn't Edward tell you anything? The hollow has taken her over. She's being controlled by it. It's taken Kol's and my sister's power too." I told her; quite surprised the fortune teller didn't know.

"How did that happen?!" she yelled. "Alright listen, they are waiting for some celestial event, she has power, but it leaves her as quickly as it comes in. If you can make it there before that happens, you can stop her from taking the last one." She told me. "Jasper and I will start heading-"

"No Alice." I told her. "I appreciate you wanting to help, but this is going to be dangerous enough, without having more people who can be hurt. Adrienne would never forgive herself if something happened to you." I told her.

"I can help." She said.

"The best way for you to help, is to keep me updated with your visions. I need to know all the possible outcomes before we get there." I told her. I heard her whispering to someone, but it was too fast to catch.

"Alright Hybrid, but you have to get her back." She told me.

"Even if it kills me." I said to her. "Keep me posted." I said and hung up. "Elijah is definitely there." I said to them.

"We heard. What Celestial even is happening?" Kol asked.

"Isn't there a meteor shower?" we all pulled out phones out to confirm this.

"That's by the end of the week." Kol responded.

"We won't let them get to the end of the week." I said. We spent 20 hours on the bloody train, and when we arrived we were set. Kol held onto his dark objects and Marcel had his wolf bite. I was going to try and reach Adrienne and hopefully if it worked she could help us end this. Volterra was less crowded then the month prior when I had arrived. You still saw tourist on and about taking pictures of the buildings, but not the swarm that was here for the festivities. I came alone, letting Kol and Marcel be the backup if needed. No need to show them you had tricks up your sleeves. I knew where I was going, but to bait them would be better. I pulled one of their locals into the darkest part of the alley and compelled her not to scream as I bit down on her neck.

"Are you insane?" Felix asked from behind me. "Or do you have a death wish?" I turned and smiled at him, grabbing the girl and putting her in front of me. The blood flowed down her neck and he watched it hungrily. I laughed at his weakness as he took a step from where he stood looking at her. I bit into my own wrist and fed her my blood to heal her. Her wound would heal almost immediately. While she looked at Felix, I spoke in whispers to her and made her forget. She walked passed him and he restrained himself, but it was not easy. "I could kill you." He told me.

"But then your master's would be angry." I told him. "Tell them Klaus Mikaelson wants an audience." I told him. "And do be quick." I said appearing closer to the streets. "I am quite parched." He looked at me for a moment and from the look on his face he wanted to rip my head off, but instead he left.

"Stay here." He told me and disappeared through the grate at the end of the alley. I waited and checked my phone. Marcel and Kol were not close, but they would be if needed. I didn't want to know their locations in case Aro shook my hand, not that I had any intention of letting him, but couldn't be too cautious. When Felix returned I was eyeing the pretty red head by the fountain. He cleared his throat. "Aro will see you now." He told me smiling.

"After you." I said and he jumped into the grate again. I followed him completely aware of my surroundings. We ran through the tunnels and finally made it to the grand door. I waited as he opened it. It was empty now, no one stood there except for me and the cloaked figure ahead. I thought I knew who it was, but as she removed the cloak I was only slightly surprised to find Annette.

"Hello Niklaus, welcome back." She smiled. The doors closed behind me and then the vision began.


	18. Chapter 18

Klaus' POV Ch. 18:

It wasn't like before; she didn't target my daughter this time. She knew what I wanted to save right now was Adrienne and so she replayed the same moment as before. When the hollow permanently etched herself into her body and Adrienne's spirit left it. I knew it wasn't real, but I was unable to look away from it. Eventually from either boredom or something she stopped. I found myself on the ground on my knees.

"Pathetic." She muttered. "After all these years I didn't think that you would be so easy to kill. The great Klaus Mikaelson nothing more than a love sick fool." She told me.

"Where is Adrienne?" I asked her standing up.

"Adrienne is dead, only the Hollow remains." She said to me.

"You're lying. Why won't you bring her here? Are you so afraid of her? Do you know that if you bring her here, I will get her back?" I asked her hoping my baiting her would make her do what I wanted.

"What do I have to be afraid of? I'm on the winning side, remember, that's all that matters." She said.

"Annette, you don't have to do this." I told her. "Adrienne did care about you, but she couldn't forgive the ancestors back then." I tried to explain. She smiled at me as I stood up.

"Do you know why her parents and the ancestors for that matter did what they did?" she asked me, when I didn't answer she continued. "We saw your family. We saw what you would do to our kind. We knew that the next generation would not be strong enough to end the Mikaelson family, so we recruited. They spoke to the other spirits on the other side and forged a deal." She told me.

"What kind of deal?" I asked her.

"Adrienne is from two of the most powerful witch lines that ever existed. Her mother belonged to the Bennet line and her father was from the Mason line. They were foolish enough to give their magic to their daughter at birth. It left them defenseless when we came for her."

"Why would the spirits ever agree to that?" I asked her, taking a step forward. I was showing too much emotion. She smiled when I asked.

"Just like the hollow, when you give that much power to someone, especially an infant they grow up wanting more power. The convergence would be too much for our world. Her parents made a mistake when they gave her their magic, the ancestors saw that. So they made a deal that would keep her bound to New Orleans and would give the ancestors reign over how she used it. They simply underestimated her." She told me. "Don't you see? No matter what Adrienne was born with the same darkness the Hollow carries, she can never rid herself of it and one day she would go back to her darkness and destroy the earth with it." She told me.

"You're wrong. You don't know how far she's come." I told her. "You've let this vengeance drive you for too long." I said to her, and her anger showed through.

"No! You don't know her. You've been together for weeks; you have no idea what she is truly capable of. What's worse if you try to save her, you are ultimately ending all that you hold dear." She told me and she raised her hand towards me again. I tried to fight off her vision, but I failed. In Mystic Falls I stood at the foot of my daughter's bed. She was older, but ultimately still Hope. I watched her sleeping peacefully when the door swung open. It woke her and she jumped from her bed and looked at the coming figure. Adrienne stood there looking ravenous. She stalked to Hope, but my daughter sent her flying into the wall. Hailey appeared and took in the scene.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked Adrienne.

"You don't have to do this. Please fight it." Hope begged Adrienne as she stood again.

"I don't want to fight it." She told her. Hailey tried to stop her by snapping her neck, but instead Adrienne sent the headboard in pieces flying towards her body and she fell unconscious.

"Mom!" Hope cried out. I tried to step between them, but I was just an observer, I couldn't intervene.

"I can smell it, your power. It's so intense. I can't imagine there has ever been something so strong." She told her, advancing.

"I don't want to hurt you." She responded.

"Give it your best shot, little wolf." She told her, still advancing. Hope gripped her necklace and raised her hand, and a furious wind appeared and the earth moved, but Adrienne continued. She smiled devilishly at my daughter.

"Stop!" I yelled, but I could not be heard. Hope tried to send her away again, but nothing worked. It was as if she was absorbing the magic she used. Finally she tried to do the same with the headboard, but all the pieces missed Adrienne. Finally Adrienne reached Hope, who cried out in pain as she grabbed her by the throat and lifted her in the air.

"My father will kill you if you hurt me." She struggled to say, but Adrienne was laughing at this point.

"Your father doesn't have the power to kill me and I'm afraid you'll be more than hurt." She plunged her free hand into Hope's chest and I lunged towards them only to end up back in front of Annette. She stared at me and I was shaken to my core. It wasn't real, Adrienne was not capable. She read my emotions on my face.

"Adrienne has a darkness that no one is familiar with. When you freed her from her restraints all those years ago, you sealed your fate." She said to me. "Do you still want to save her?" she asked me. Before I had a chance to speak the door opened again and Adrienne stood with Aro. She stared at me and smiled, it was the Hollow. Aro walked towards Annette who bowed and became serious at his presence. She moved slightly behind his throne and stared at Adrienne.

"Welcome back Niklaus." He said to me. Adrienne walked off and took a seat at another throne.

"Yes, thank you for making this easier for me." The hollow spoke.

"Thank you for showing up." I told them and pulled out s sphere from my pocket. I threw it into the air and let it land by their feet. It sparked and then stunned Aro and Annette. Adrienne remained and stood up, throwing me into the far wall.

"Enough with the dark objects!" she yelled. "You wanted me alone? Now you have me!" she told me and raised me higher on the wall. I felt my throat being held in place.

"You can't them." I said and she threw me a look that was inconceivable.

"I already have them." She let go of me and I dropped to the ground. "I was going to wait until I was fully in control of her body with my powers back to kill you, but instead I think I'll kill you now, so that she can watch." She told me and that was all I needed.

"Adrienne." I spoke. "I need you to fight, love. She cannot win!" I yelled out, but the hollow laughed.

"You fool, she can't take back what's no longer hers." She told me and I was flipped onto the floor and broke into the granite. I felt my heart beat race as she gripped it telepathically.

"Adrienne!" I yelled out. "I need you to fight, please!" I begged again. Luckily the cavalry arrived and Marcel knocked Adrienne into a wall. Aro and Annette woke as I stood again. Others began to flood in, and all began to look bleak. Annette lunged at Kol and the others began to close in, waiting on Aro's order. Finally though Adrienne had me in her sights again and looked troubled through the crowd. In an instant a few things happened. Aro nodded, which was apparently the signal they were waiting for because they came towards me and Marcel. Annette and Kol were fighting when he realized we were trapped and in for the fight of our lives. And Adrienne screamed out and sent them flying.

"NO!" she yelled as the vampires tried to end our lives. They flew in every direction, slamming into the walls. Aro tried to touch her and when he did his body crumbled onto the ground, sending growling snarls through his army. Kol slammed glass into the ground and as Adrienne let go of all the vampires, they were trapped outside the barrier the dark object had created. I ran to her, because the hollow would not have saved us, this meant that Adrienne had fought through and found a way to save the people she loved. Annette stood in the circle with us and she wore the chains that restrained magic. She was powerless now. "I don't know how long I can keep her out." She said through her teeth. I kissed her quickly Marcel took her hand. She walked towards Annette. "Where is Elijah?" she asked.

"I'm not telling you anything!" Annette protested. Adrienne in one quick movement plunged her hand into Annette's chest, bringing back the fearful thoughts she had put in my mind. I took an involuntary step back.

"I don't know how much time I have left, but I promise I will take my last moments ripping you apart from the inside, so help me God, if you do not tell me where he is!" she told her. Kol looked at them and took a step towards them, but Marcel stopped him. Annette cried out in pain as Adrienne gripped her dead heart. "Shall I pull on something else from inside you." She asked her. Annette looked at me and I understood immediately what she trying to say. No one knew the darkness within her, but what did that matter to me. I've done worse, and in less dire situations. Adrienne was protecting us all, trying to save us while she can. Her methods were dark, but it was in all of us. "Alright, your choice." She started to pull back her arm and Annette yelled out in pain.

"Bring us the prisoner!" she said. "Felix, bring him now!" she told him. Felix did not hesitate and disappeared, when he returned he held and unconscious Elijah in his arms.

"Tell them to stand down, tell them to leave us, or I will end their leader." She whispered to Annette. They stared at each other and without tearing her eyes from her face, she spoke.

"Leave. I will protect our Master's life." She uttered. The other's snarled in protest. "Go! Protect the others." She said to them and then finally looked at Felix and nodded.

"Go, Now!" Felix shouted. "This is not over." He said looking at me. When the doors closed Adrienne let go of Annette and walked through the dark objects magic to touch the door. It sealed further, a new boundary spell.

"What are you going to do?" Marcel asked her.

"I'm going to take in the rest of the hollow and end this once and for all." She said to him.

"If you take in the hollow she will take you over." Kol protested.

"No, I will use one of you as an anchor. When I have her magic, I will finally end this, but we have to move quickly." She told them.

"I will anchor you." I told her. She looked into my eyes lovingly and nodded. She walked over to Annette and took her hands in hers.

"I'm sorry. I can't have you trying to stop me." She told her. Annette tried to fight her off, but then calmed and closed her eyes. If she could cry I believe she would be. She fell and Kol caught her. "That should keep her down." She said walking back to me. I stood next to Elijah. She sat down next to Elijah and sat in front of her. She looked over at Kol and Marcel and smiled. "If this doesn't work, rip out my heart. The hollow will be trapped on the other side. In her own personal prison." She told us. We all stared at her, but we understood what had to happen. She took my hand and closed her eyes when a tear fell from it. I watched her realizing this could be the last time I saw her. She dug her fingers into Elijah's side and began chanting while she held his wooden chest piece between our hands. I felt the pull of the hollow vs Adrienne's fight against it. It seeped through Elijah's unconscious body and into her. She pulled it and I felt her strength grow. The hollow stirred within her until finally it was a matter of who won over. Her eyes glowed bright blue and I had to struggle to hold onto her hand. Her body began to tremble and she started to shake violently until she fell back, and her hand slipped from mine.


	19. Chapter 19

Adrienne's POV Ch. 19:

I looked at Niklaus and felt my emotions over take me. Could I do this to him? Could I leave him again forever? Would he survive when he finds out what I'm actually doing? I let one single tear fall and closed my eyes summoning the hollow. I had been present while she took the hollow from Rebekah and I had successfully removed it from both Kol and Nik before she took over. I let it all fall into me and felt his hand in mine holding on tightly. I felt her awaken as the last of her magic came into me. I let it fuel my own power. She opened my eyes and together we looked at Nik. I saw the love of my existence while she saw another victim. She tried to pull my hand from his to take over my body again, but I fought her this time, with all my strength. I felt my body begin to shake.

"You weak child." She told me. "You can't beat me. My power is unlimited." She told me. I let my hand slip from his as we fought and fell back. My body began thrashing onto the floor and I joined her in my subconscious. I appeared in New Orleans and my mind flashed to where it all began.

NEW ORLEANS PAST

"Adrienne stop running from us." My friends called out to me, but it did not stop me from continuing into the forest. The tears streamed down my face as I thought about what I had found out. It was a normal night. My parents and I were eating dinner when my father reached over to take our hands to thank the ancestors, when I saw it. A couple holding a small infant wrapped in a silk blanket with an embroidered A on it. In their youths my parents entered the couple's home and hung them using magic. The child cried out in protest and the earth shook. My mother took the baby from the woman's arms and cradled her in her own arms. As they left with the child my father set fire to the small cabin in the woods where they lived. When I pulled my hand away I told them what I saw and they did not react the way I expected. My powers were too new. I didn't realize what it meant until I found the blanket in my mother's things. I was the child. I ran from my home. I ignored my friends and lashed out at the forest using magic. It did make me feel again. I sent furious winds through the branches. I'd never used so much magic before. It was exhilarating. Finally my friends caught up to me and I tried to hide my powers from them. I didn't know who to trust. It was all very disorienting to not know who you were supposed to be.

"Why did you run?" Lucy asked. "Didn't you hear us calling out to you." She told me crossing her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps she was upset; give her a chance to explain." Annette told them. Linny stared at me and then the scene behind me. She walked towards the broken branches of the forest around me.

"How did this happen?" she asked curiously. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I was just out here to think, it was like that when I got here." I told them.

"Why are you here?" Linny asked. She was the unspoken leader of our group. She kept us in line, but also protected us from the one mind of the ancestors.

"My powers are growing. I'm seeing things." I told them part of my problem.

"You have visions, that's amazing." Lucy said. "That's a great power."

"Not when you do not want to see what they show you." I responded. They all stared at me.

"What did you see?" Linny asked me. I hesitated.

"You can tell us anything Adrienne. You can trust us." Annette told me.

"I do not know exactly, maybe I should talk to my mother again. She may have some answers for me." I told them. They all nodded and walked me back home. My father was gone when I arrived and my mother paced in her kitchen.

"Where have you been? Do you not know the dangers that lurk in the darkness?" she cried out. I heard my father approaching.

"I know what I saw in my vision." I told her.

"You know nothing. You are too young to understand." She told me.

"You stole me from my true family did you not?" I asked her raising my voice. "It explains why you treat me like a stranger, why you never tell me you care for me." I started to cry and my father finally entered our home.

"Adrienne, I've searched everywhere for you. Where have you been?" he asked me, until he saw my distraught mother crying. He ran to her. "Are you hurt?" he asked her. Then he whispered, "Did she hurt you?" I took a step back.

"What did you do? Why did you take me from them? Who were they?" I cried out throwing questions at them.

"Calm yourself Adrienne. You know not what you speak. You are our daughter and we are going to help you." My father said taking my mother's hand and raising their hands towards me.

"What are you doing?" I asked when I started to feel faint. I leaned against the wall.

"Just close your eyes, it will all be better when you wake." My father told me, but something in me darkened.

"NO!" I screamed and they flew into the wall. My mother was unconscious, but I walked over to my father's side and instinctually took his hand. I let my heart and mind seek what I wanted and then I saw the truth. After they killed my parents they brought me back to the elders and together with the magic of the ancestors they fed me the blood of the eldest member of the coven and tied me to this earth. I stumbled back and my father tried to reach for my mother, I now saw what I had done. When I threw her, her head hit the wall hard and now her blood filled the floor.

"What did you do?!" he yelled. "Estefania!" he called to her. "What did you do?!" I felt my entire body shake and I cried out. I didn't want to kill her, I was just angry. My magic was out of control. My father came to me after steadying himself holding a dagger in bright red flames. He chanted calling the darkness from me, but again instinctual my hand raised and his head snapped. I screamed when he fell and fled into the arms of my neighbor Melanie.

"It's alright child." She whispered and her daughter Lucy took my hand. "It's alright." She said, but I felt like this was only the beginning and my heart darkened a little at all the revelations made tonight.


	20. Chapter 20

Adrienne's POV Ch. 20:

In the year that followed I stayed with different family friends. I told my friends what had happened to my parents and they proved themselves when they kept her secret. I told them how my parents truly died, but I kept the secrets about the ancestors plans for me to myself. Lucy eventually found out why I hated them. The night we met Kol Mikaelson was the night everything changed. We were in the quarter, I had just turned 18 and the jazz was flowing through the streets. He approached us and scared the life out of Lucy. His face and shirt were covered in blood and he smiled devilishly at us. We had known about the Originals when they arrived in town. Kol was not around in the beginning but in the past few weeks he has made his presence known.

"Evening ladies." He said to us. Linny stood in front of and I almost laughed. I had practiced my magic in the last year and I had gotten a lot more control, but the girls had no idea. All their parents were too tied in with the elders. "What are four young witches doing out at this hour?" He asked us.

"Heading home." Linny replied.

"Well then don't let me keep you." He told us while moving out of the way. We moved past him and Linny sped up. It wasn't the last we saw of him.

"And they pull me into their room and tell me that I am the future leader of the coven and I should start acting like it." Linny complained one night as we drank by the water.

"Mother and father just want to prepare you." Annette told her. Their grandmother was regent to all New Orleans witches. Linny was supposed to be pretty powerful and lead us one day.

"I do not want to be the leader of all witches. I am barely nineteen." She said. "I'm not supposed to have this much responsibility, I'm supposed to be having fun and falling in love."

"You have to find a man first." I muttered. Lucy laughed and Annette looked at her sister. When she laughed all was well.

"The men around here are all the same." She said to me.

"Not all." Annette commented. She was looking at the figure walking up ahead. It was Kol.

"Ladies, we meet again." He said. "Did I hear someone say they wanted fun? Fun is what I do best." He told us.

"We do not find murder fun." Linny told him.

"To each his own." He said. "Really I mean I know quite a lot about witchcraft and if you were willing I can teach you the right kind of spells." He told us and I leaned in closer excited.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"In all my years on this earth, I've always related more with witches, having been one myself. All I ask is that you allow me to guide you in the craft." He smiled.

"Like what?" I asked intrigued.

"Adrienne!" Linny called out to me.

"Have you heard of dark objects?" He smiled and I shook my head. "Curses and hexes?" I nodded. "I have the spells." He said.

"Adrienne have you lost your mind?" Linny asked, I had involuntarily walked closer to Kol as he spoke.

"Come now Linny. We have tried to learn these same things on our own and gotten no where. He can show us and we can learn how to be real leaders to future witches instead of being like the ancestors." I told her. We had attempted to gain more power and focus in the last years, as we all wanted no part in being the ancestors puppets. They all looked at us and each other. I read it in their face. They were in. I turned to Kol who smiled.

"This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." He took my hand and a vision came. One where I possessed more power than ever imaginable, but I had to give in to a deeper darkness. One that I usually kept at bay. I had no idea how to start about it, but I knew it required sacrifice, a human sacrifice.

"Yes it is." I responded.

The months that followed were exhilarating. We learned how to be our own witches and I learned how to gain more power. I decided to go to the bayou for the first time, since I did not know exactly how to do what I wanted. I found a weak looking man who lived in a cabin. When he turned to pick up wood logs I stabbed him in the back with a blade I had spelled to keep him down. He yelped out in pain, but we were so far from anyone I was not worried about exposure. I called for his life and while his blood dripped a new essence leaked from his wounds. It floated over to me, in a light blue smoke and entered me through my hands. It filled me, but I couldn't control the raw power boost. It was too potent to handle. I had to find a way to channel the power so the following time I used my mother's ring and held the power in it. It allowed me to channel the power when necessary and use it at will. True human sacrifice had been the answer I'd been searching for. You would have thought that somewhere in me would have been an ounce of regret, but I had none. I was stronger than ever and Kol and the girls had no idea. I hunted for prey further out in the bayou, until I thought I had enough power to cloak myself from the others. One night when we sat alone by the water Kol spoke to me differently sensing my new confidence.

"Why is Linny your leader?" He asked me. "You have much more potential than she." He said. I knew he was right. Magic was second nature, I did not fear it like the others.

"Linny is the eldest sister in a family that has held power for a long time. The ancestors had a great vision of her future long before she was born, only she doesn't want it." I explained. "She's rather rebellious, but I'm sure she'll eventually find her place. After all it's hard to fight your destiny." I told him, wondering what the ancestors and elders wanted with me. Going through so much trouble to make me a part of their coven and for what?

"That is true." He answered.

"May I ask you a question?" I asked him and he nodded. "I'm curious. What is it like to take a life?" I asked him. The look on his face showed me he was confused. I wanted to know if everyone feels guilt or if the way I felt was abnormal somehow.

"Honestly, I've taken many lives. In the beginning it was difficult for me, but eventually the faces blur together. Currently if I take a life I feel nothing." He watched me carefully. "Did I frighten you?" He asked me.

"Of course not Kol, don't be silly." I told him. "I was just curious." I felt a lot more than nothing. It was out of this world to hold someone's life in my hands, and it was thrilling when I chose to end it. Kol watched me and I tried to ignore him. "Tell me about your family. I don't have any family of my own you know?. My parents died a year ago and they had no kin here besides me." I told him.

"What is there to say about the Mikaelson clan? We are here in New Orleans in search of a new home." He told me. "Trust me I'm the best of the bunch." I laughed.

"Kol!" someone called out from behind us. "We've been looking for you everywhere. Come now, your needed at home." The man told him. Kol rolled his eyes and stood up.

"That would be my brother Klaus. I guess I'll be going." He said to me. I looked back at the man standing there. I had seen him around, we didn't run in the same circles, but I'd heard of him. When Kol started walking away another vision came and I fell completely into it. It was strong and more real than I'd ever felt. I saw small children in a deep wooded area and then they grew. It was Kol and his family. I watched as they became vampires and felt the pain as they cursed Klaus because of his werewolf lineage. It was horrible and I felt as though he must feel. It jumped in time and I stood next to him as we broke his curse together. I was strong and untied to this place. He built his army and no one stood could challenge us. I chose to become immortal, but I kept my magic. I sucked in a deep breath excited about what I had seen. I wanted that power more than anything and I looked back to see the vampire staring at me oddly. He didn't seem like the type to be open to my plan. But I had to try. I left that night knowing that I needed more power. I found a lone vampire feeding in an alley in the quarter. His guard was down and I had now perfected my method. As he dropped the person onto the ground I lifted him into the air magically and crushed his windpipe to muffle the screams. The cuts came first and the as the blood spilled the essence fell out. Vampires were dead but their immortal life came to me. I felt him slipping away and then die. I stumbled back as the new power filled me. That was the key. Supernatural creatures had stronger essences. I left him there feeling stronger than before but also craving more. The following day the quarter was crowded with people speaking about the death of the vampire. Werewolves were suspected but the full moon was not upon us. Lucy and Annette were with me when we caught up with Kol.

"What's happened here?" Lucy asked him.

"One of the vampires my brother created was killed.

"That does not sound like something that would bring so many people here." I said.

"It was not a normal death." He said.

"Was he not staked?" Annette asked.

"No, it looked like the air was taken from his body and he had gashes all over him deep wounds that did not heal." He said. I put on my best concerned face.

"Who could have done it?" Annette asked.

"We don't know." He confessed. Linnette appeared behind us with a fearsome face on.

"The elders say this is not the first attack. People in the bayou have been attacked the same way. They thought it was an animal." She told us. "They say this darkness has only just begun." She said and I loved that they had named me the darkness. This darkness would be the end of them. I thought.

"Whatever it is, it's gotten my brother all worked up." He said and my interest flared. "Nik is throwing a celebration in honor of Isaacs life. Really I think it's just a way to keep his vampires closer." He told us. I smiled, somehow I was going to be there.

"The elders do not want us anywhere near here anymore." Linny said. I turned abruptly towards her.

"Since when do we listen to the listen to the elders?" I asked. "We are witches of the French quarter, we fear no one, not even this darkness." I said and Lucy took my hand.

"I'm with Adrienne." she said. The others smiled at us and Linny nodded. I took another vampire and a wolf in the following week, consumed by my newest addiction. It became easier the longer I did it , but it caused an uproar with the community. Kol came to us to invite us to the party, we were supposed to protect the home and search for the darkness. I almost laughed. That night after we created a boundary spell which kept everyone inside we separated for a while and I found a man leaving the church. As my addiction flared and I craved for more power I took his life and hurried back to the girls. No one noticed my absence when I entered the compound. The music flowed and Lucy swayed. Annette came back to us looking concerned. She spoke in whispers.

"The elders asked to see Linnette tonight. There is no telling what they wanted." She said.

"It could be the about the darkness." Lucy said.

"She's one of the strongest witches they must have more information." I said although I hoped not. Linny eventually found us later and pulled Annette away. I began to worry and decided weather he was ready or not Klaus would have to help me. Annette came back and we waited for Kol to return. When we saw him approach he was not alone and I could not pry my eyes from Klaus.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be protecting the compound?" He yelled.

"Linny told us to wait for you Kol." Annette said to Lol, but I watched Klaus and he looked at me.

"It's alright Nik, they're with me." Kol defended us and Klaus looked at him but then back at me. Something about the way he looked at me made me blush.

"Perhaps while you speak to Linny, your lovely friends could keep me company." He said and I looked at Lucy nervously. I had to be brave and tell him.

"Nik." Kol said and Klaus turned his whole body towards him.

"Oh relax Kol, it's a party. What is it you think is going to happen?" he told Kol. "I promise to behave Brother." he said smiling. Kol sighed defeated.

"Go on girls, have a drink. Kick up your feet." He told us. Annette stayed behind.

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up." she said.

We walked inside and he gave us drinks and sat us towards the back in a closed off area. After drinking her drink quickly, Lucy began to drink mine and she swayed to the music allowing me to speak to Klaus.

"Are you nervous to be alone with me?" He asked me.

"Not at all."

"I am an Original vampire, I've lived for a long time."

"What a tragedy it must be like to live forever." I told him.

"Tragedy? I have walked this earth for nearly 600 hundred years. I've traveled the world, seen countless wonders. Are you telling me that if given the opportunity you would not want immortality?" He asked me.

"You can either be a vampire or a witch. You cannot be both sweetheart. So I choose my magic." I answered honestly and we both laughed.

"Well I see you've been having a good time." Kol said and we both looked up. I nodded at him I needed more time alone.

"Yes you've hidden away quite a treasure, Kol." Klaus said. Kol nodded. I looked at Lucy and she went to Kol and took his hand.

"Dance with me Kol." She begged. Kol looked at us but Klaus waved him away

"Go on we have quite a discussion ahead of us." he said to Kol and they left.

"You are quite an interesting creature." He told me. I smiled.

"You have no idea." I said. "I've wanted to meet you for a while." I confessed.

"And what has taken you so long." He asked me.

"The other witches say you're dangerous and badly tempered. I was told to stay away." I told him.

"Why didn't you heed their warning?" He asked.

"I'm not afraid of you." I said.

"Really and why not? Most people do." He said.

"I am not most people and I see right through you."

"What do you see?" He asked and leaned closer to me.

"You're misunderstood. I see great power within you. There's a beast that wants to be let free." I told him.

We were close and looking intensely at one another when Kol walked in. He stood and faced Kol.

"What did you tell her?!" He asked him. "Sharing family secrets with your witch friends?! How about I kill them all and bury a dagger in your heart!" He yelled.

"I told her nothing!" Kol yelled and his siblings appeared.

"We have guests Niklaus, relax." Their brother said, but he didn't instead he grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. His hand gripped my throat. I felt comfortable I could escape.

"What else has my brother told you?" He asked her through his teeth.

"All this anger within you is your werewolf half trying to come out." I told him. "Kol has told me nothing." I said.

"Let her go Nik!" Kol yelled. Lucy ran out. "Now Klaus."

"Leave her Nik; we don't need a war with the witches." Rebekah said. While he was distracted I threw him away from me and kept my hand out at the ready.

"I am not your average witch." I said. Klaus stood and took a step towards me. "I was offering you an alliance, but I can see now that you are not ready." I said. "I will be leaving now." I told them all.

"No you're not." He replied and lunged onto me. He bit into my neck but he was close now. I dug my fingers into his back and began draining him. It was exhilarating. He pulled back in agony and I tried to compose myself. I let the power flow and my wounds healed. I saw Kol watching me wide eyed.

"Adrienne?" He called out. Rebekah knelt by Klaus side and Elijah stared at me.

"What are you?" He asked me.

"I can be your greatest ally or your worst enemy. The choice is yours." I told them and walked away as Linny called out to me.


	21. Chapter 21

Adrienne's POV Ch. 21:

When I walked away from the compound my situation became more complicated. No one knew what occurred at the party except for the originals and I. The girls were angry with me, they couldn't understand why this was happening. Why I would put myself in this situation. That night they brought me home. Lucy's mother was gone.

"Of all the incredibly stupid things to do. Have you not heard the stories Kol has told us about his brother?" Linny yelled at me.

"I am far from stupid Linny, calm yourself. I am alive, the dangerous vampire did not kill me." I told her.

"But he could have so easily. If Kol had not been there-" I stopped her by raising my hand.

"If Kol could not be there, then I would have protected myself." I told her.

"Why did he attack you?" Linny asked, less concerned and more worried.

"We need allies. If we are to break away from the old traditions we need friends in high places. The originals seem like a good place to start. I thought I was strong enough to make him see what we can offer." I said to them.

"We know that you are strong Adrienne, but we worry. When a vampire as old and dangerous as Klaus attacks you, we have a right to worry. You should stay with the coven until we hear from Kol." Annette said. I rolled my eyes. I felt my emotions getting the better of me and I tried to call myself.

"No, the last thing I want is the elders protection. What is it they wanted from you Linny?" I asked. I was curious.

"They are worried about this new darkness. The coven is not as strong as it used to be and they want to do a harvest to appease the ancestors. We have been chosen." She said.

"I'm sorry, did you just say we?" I asked her. She nodded. Of course they wanted me to be a harvest girl, it would give the ancestors full reign on me.

"They believe that we are the strongest of the new generation of witches because of our ties to one another." Annette said.

"I will not be a harvest girl!" I told them all. Damn the ancestors and their never ending plan to keep me bound to them.

"Nothing is happening now. It's been talked about, but the elders are seeing how this plays out first." Linny said.

"Then we focus on one thing at a time. Besides my mother has been with them, they are getting closer to whatever this darkness is. Once we know what it is, we can destroy it and there will be no need for the harvest." Lucy said and I took a deep breathe. I needed to find a way to reach Klaus and hurry this along. With so many witches looking for me it would be hard to keep my secret before I had enough power to end this. I knew I was cloaked but I worried. When Linny and Annette left to go home, Lucy went to bed and I packed the things I needed and left. The church where I'd killed the man was abandoned. I took refuge in the attack and spelled it from magic, hopefully long enough to reach Kol. I called out to him for days with no answer until finally he arrived.

"I didn't think my call would reach you." I told him hugging him tightly.

"Would you like to explain what the he'll that was?" I stepped back. "My brother is an evil bastard, who now wants you dead and me daggered." I frowned. I didn't want Kol to be implicated because of me.

"I didn't think he'd react that way, but when I had the vision, I knew I had finally collected enough power." I explained, but I had confused him.

"Collected?" He asked and took a step back. "You're the darkness?" He asked me.

"I thought you realized that once you saw me take your brother." I told him.

"Adrienne what have you done?" I decided to tell him my truth and hope that he believed in me.

"I can't belong to this coven Kol. Witches aren't meant to be anchored to one place by forces in the afterlife. Especially not by one so full of lies and deceit." I said the rush of emotion hitting me.

"I don't understand." He said.

"I have been collecting life forces for a year. It keeps me strong. If I can collect just a little while longer than I can rid myself of my ties to New Orleans and finally leave." I said.

"You're literally draining the life out of people?" A new wave of anger showed through.

"Don't judge me. I've seen you kill countless people without any remorse." I said.

"I am a vampire." He said. "What vision did you see of my brother?" I came closer to him.

"I saw me breaking his curse without the doppelganger and then I saw him change me and I found a way to keep my magic." I paused. "Don't you see Kol? If I have the power to help your brother and remain with magic after death, I can give you what you always wanted. Your powers back." I said to him. I knew what he wanted.

"Why bother with my brother?" He asked.

"I need all the Mikaelsons. I need protection from the witches. They are close to figuring it out. If they do they will kill me. If they do the Harvest they will gain the power to kill us all." I warned. "I need you to convince your brother to trust me. If you do everything will come true." I groveled.

"You wounded his pride. It's not that easy."

"Try Kol. Tell him what I'm offering." I said.

"And you'd just turn your back on the spirits?"

"After what they've done? They turned their backs on me first." I confessed. Lol left and I waited. It took me a while to have hope that it would work but when he returned I knew it couldn't be that easy. As we walked towards his home I wore a long dark hood and walked quickly. I almost panicked when I saw Annette. They would never understand. Kol guided me to the door and I waited for him to enter. He got rid of her and together we spoke to Klaus. I had to demonstrate my magic which was easier now that I had access to so much power. Only after I showed Klaus my vision did he accept me into his home and I grew hopeful that I would be able to pull this off. Until Kol walked me to my new room. I stared out the window and there in the street were Lucy, Annette and Linnette all looking up at me. They did not know that I had betrayed them yet, but when they saw me there and anger radiated from Linny that I'd never seen before. I knew that it would not take the witches long to regroup and being separated from my friends created a lack of information that I did not like. I decided to get on Klaus' good side by helping him get what he wanted. I created a boundary spell for the wolves. The first full moon they were tied to the farthest place in the bayou. When I felt the Elders begin to get desperate Kol and I created a dark object tied to my blood. On a silent night I entered their sacred place, the cemetery and Klaus and his family and other vampires helped to coral them. I had used protection spells, so that their magic would not hurt them. I used the object but not before getting something from them. The others were restrained but I made it to the eldest woman and took her hand.

"Why do you betray us child?" she asked me. "We are your family." I bent down to her ear to whisper.

"You stole me from my family and lied to me my entire life. I hope this causes you the pain that I feel." I took her hands and again allowed my instincts to take over. I searched through what she tried to hide and got a glimpse of the hurtful truth. The reason behind my kidnapping, they were afraid of my magic. They were afraid of my lineage and when the lines crossed together and created me, I was supposed to be a danger to everyone. I smiled as I let her go.

"It was necessary." she told me. I threw down the dark object and stepped back and away from the mausoleum. I watched as they fell into an eternal slumber. They were not dead for that would only help create new elders, but they were not able to use their powers either. When I walked out Klaus was closest to the structure and I wondered if he heard any of it. Lucy ran to me. She appeared out of no where and was highly upset.

"What have you done?" she asked me.

"What we always wanted. I started a new order separated from the ancestors."

"Where is my mother?" she cried.

"Calm yourself she is not an elder and has nothing to fear from me, yet." I told her. I was trying to push her away. I couldn't be weak on the verge of getting everything I wanted. I loved Lucy she was thing to family I had, but I wasn't planning on hurting her.

"Adrienne, why?" she continued to cry.

"They ruined me. They made it so I couldn't access my magic without them. They took me from my real parents to use me. They didn't count on me finding out and now I require justice." I told her. She looked at me sadder than I have ever seen her. She took a step towards me, but Klaus appeared.

"Are you ready?" Klaus asked me. I nodded and took his hand. We left and it was never the same again. In a short time things changed. The girls and I were fighting on different sides. I helped create a new power and it was invigorating. I gained more power by the day and Niklaus gained more followers. The stronger we became the more he wanted me around. I started to realize that I craved his company almost as much as I did the power. He introduces me to Marcellus and the young boy made me feel whole. I tried to teach him as I had been taught and showed him about magic, that he was not capable of doing. He was my light. I would let the darkness take over in front of everyone, but not this little warrior. He was special. Kol grew more distant from me as I grew closer to Niklaus. We had become friends over night. I found that he understood me where others could not. I enjoyed his darkness as he did mine. He made me smile in a world where most things would not. I knew something had changed even though I denied it to Kol and myself I began to have feelings for him. I made sure my spells were stronger than the others to protect him. In times where I thought he could never feel for me the way I began to feel for him, he proved me wrong. Niklaus and I spent most nights talking and one night it changed. We were in the library speaking about travel when he turned to me and spoke his mind.

"I have been around for many years, and I can honestly say I've never met someone quite like you." He told me smiling. It was contagious and I smiled back.

"And what am I like?" I asked him. Curious to know how he felt about me.

"Amazing." He said. Our bodies we inclined towards each other and his voice became a soft velvet whisper. "Utterly beautiful and I feel selfish for wanting what I do. I think you were meant for me." He said. I felt the heat radiate from him and I leaned in closer.

"Meant for what?" I asked him, suddenly very aware of him. I stared into his eyes.

"Meant to love." And then he kissed me and my heart sped up. Every fiber in my tied to him. I felt what he wanted to do before he did it. He was right this was meant to be. No two people could be more perfectly matched if they tried. The darkness in me that most people feared, he appreciated and I did the same with his. I could be myself, without fear of judgement. I thought about how I got here. If I had not been kidnapped and brought here would I have known him? If I had not found out about my lineage would I be here betraying my people? I wanted to believe that this was the reason those things were meant to happen. It was the greatest kiss in existence. When he pulled away I looked deep into his eyes and felt something click. I knew this had been long building and my mind and heart fought, but my heart won. I'm only human. We kept our relationship a secret for a few months. No one knew except for us and Marcellus, who was ecstatic with our union, but nothing could be kept a secret forever. Eventually Kol found out, in an awkward and horrible way and he did not approve. Surprisingly though Nik decided to tell his other family a few days later. Elijah and Rebekah reacted as expected.

"How long has this been happening?" Rebekah asked.

"A few months." Nik replied.

"Congratulations." Elijah said, "How about a toast to the happy couple?" he asked and Nik walked with him to open a bottle of champagne. Rebekah walked over to me and smiled nicely.

"That's wonderful Adrienne." She said, but it didn't sound wonderful.

"I want you to know how much I care for him Rebekah. We didn't plan this, but I think it's worked out." I told her.

"Of course. How wonderful that you have found each other in the midst of all the caos." she said smiling. "Excuse me." she told me getting up and following the boys towards the bar.

"It's more than just a practicality love." Nik told me later that night. "I am immortal and you are human. I want you forever." He said as he offered me his blood. "It would give me peace of mind if ever something were to catch us off guard." He said.

"But if I am a vampire I will lose my magic." I explained to him. "I don't know what I would become. I don't know if I could protect this family." I said in reality I was afraid to lose more than my power. I loved him so absolutely but my mind still worried if in changing he would see me the same.

"Do you doubt our love?" he said reading me as clearly as ever. "I have never loved anything in the way that I love you. If I could choose between you and breaking this foul curse, my choice is clear. It will always be you." He confessed.

"I love you." I told him. "I'll do it for you, but it's a precaution for now. When we break your curse I will be like you and keep my magic. Together we will create a new world order." I told him. He smiled. With his mother's grimoire we spelled his blood, infusing magic with the blood of the hybrid. I drank from him everyday for months in the same way and found that it was as addicting as my magic ciphering. My powers grew and they became tied to my emotions. I would conjure storms in a fit of anger and drop the temperature in the dead of summer. One night as I was putting Marcellus to sleep Kol waited for me.

"Rather impatient tonight aren't you?" I said. "What is it?" I asked me. He led the way outside and I followed. I looked at Victor and spoke slowly. "Mind Marcellus, if anything happens to him I will hold you responsible." He nodded. As we walked people veered in different directions avoiding me. I smiled.

"Do you like what you do to people?" He asked me.

"Don't you?" I responded. "Of course you do. Fear is stronger than almost any emotion."

"Don't you believe you have enough power to break away from the ancestors? I thought you did this to be able to leave this place." He told me accusingly.

"That was the start and I do have more than enough power to break away, but I'm not leaving just yet. I have not finished what I started." I said.

"And what is that?" He asked me.

"That's for me to worry about Kol. Enjoy the freedom; your time will come soon." I told him continuing my walk. He walked away from me and I walked along the path and around the alley. Suddenly a drunk man stumbled into me and before I could push him off I felt a stab of pain pierce my side. Everything went dark and I started to see flashes of light fill the sky. The wind picked up as something carried me. I couldn't find my voice and I had been weakened. I sank into nothing. I felt nothing, when I awoke I was in my bed looking around confused I felt weak and most of all angry that my guard had been down for someone to make their move. Nik sat at my side his emotions clear.

"Nik." I whispered. The relief on his face was apparent. "What's happened?" I asked him.

"Someone found you bleeding in the street." He said to me. "Thank God you're awake, I was beginning to lose my mind." When I tried to sit up, I felt a sharp pain at my side. I lifted the cover and saw a deep gash. "Here love." He told me handing me a vile of his spelled blood. I drank it and added a spell of my own to help heal faster. Marcellus entered the room holding books and ran to me when he saw me awake. I pulled him into my side and held him there.

"It's alright little warrior. I'm alright." I told him. "How's Kol?" I asked him.

"He's sleeping it off but he should be awake by now. I'm going to ask him some questions you stay put." He told me and I nodded.

"I'll protect her." Marcellus answered and I smiled at him.

"Of course you will." I told him and Klaus kissed both the top of our heads and left the room. "What shall we read today?" I sorted through the books he held.

"What about your poems?" He asked and I nodded. I had gotten through four easy poems when Klaus returned. He didn't look hopeful. He sat at the foot of the bed and listened as I spoke. An hour past and we had read my entire book. Marcellus hugged me, but it caused a sharp pain. I gripped at my side and Nik appeared. I lifted my hand and saw that my wound had not healed at all. It goes further.

"It has not healed yet." I said but it came out in a whisper.

"Why?" He asked me concerned.

"It's not over." I realized. This wound was not meant to kill me, but I continued to weaken.

"Are you dying?" Marcellus cried. I pulled him to me and looked at Nik.

"Of course not. She will be fine, as long as we can find who did this." He said to us unconvinced. "I will keep you safe. I will keep both of you safe, I promise." He told us smiling. I looked at him worried. When we let our emotions get the better of us it ended badly. "It's alright love, rest, Kol will find them." He said. He kissed the top of both of our heads again. I started to close my eyes, and Marcellus remained unmoving . I didn't know when Niklaus left the room, but I sent out a burst of energy when I saw he was gone to protect him from what was coming.


	22. Chapter 22

Adrienne's POV Ch. 21:

Niklaus had not returned and Marcellus was restless. We went to his room and I played a game with him. He showed me a song that he had composed. I was staring to worry about Nik when a commotion started. A vampire named Tony peered into the bedroom and spoke in whispers.

"Witches are here. We can't hold them off. You have to run." He said I gripped Marcellus, but I was too weak to fight.

"You must run. Save yourself." I told him, but he shook his head.

"No, I'll fight to my last breath." He said and closed the door. Marcellus began shaking. I held the door shut and looked for a way to keep him safe.

"They are going to kill us!" he yelled. I ran to him.

"No, they will not. They have come for me." I told him in whispers . "But I will always keep you safe. Lay your head down." I told him but he held me tightly. "I will have to leave you, but you will be safe. I won't let anyone hurt you my little warrior." I told him. He nodded and laid down, I cast the spell and he slept soundly. It took most of my strength but I laid salt down and created a boundary spell. The door swung open and the witches came inside.

"There's no escape child." She told me. It was one of the elders I had put down.

"I'm not attempting to escape." I said. "Leave him be, it's me you want." I told her and she smiled. I walked towards them and closed his door. "How did you escape my spell?" I asked her.

"Using your blood of course." She said smiling. Another witch plunged the dagger into my back and then my shoulder. It was knife my father had come for me with so long ago. I felt my death and hoped that I could summon enough strength to curse them all, but the darkness took me far too quickly. Almost a year and I was taken down in one night. I fell to the ground and began to see the nothing again. I couldn't breathe. I knew what this was and I cursed my own arrogance. They were going to kill me, but it would not be simple as it had been for them. My suspicions were confined when the heat began. I was within my body, but unable to use it to flee. The flames burned my body and I felt every searing pain. This was my punishment I was to burn. I knew that death was near, but my spirit would remain trapped in this place. I tried to think of anything else, but it was almost useless. The fire raged on and I felt as my last breathe drew. I thought of Marcellus and prayed he would live a life away from this torment. I thought of Niklaus and how I hoped his heart would mend. I cried internally for them and hoped that my death would not bring them harm. My life ended and the fire extinguished to my surprise. I felt nothing again except the sweet bliss of death. I felt my spirit whoosh through the air and suddenly I was breathing in a deep breath. I was alive and Kol was with me.

"Kol?" I asked. "Where am I? What's happened?" I looked around searching. I touched my skin, surely I must look like the dead. "I was on fire, how did you get me out?" I asked.

"You were dead. Adrienne how did you do it? Did you cast a spell?" He asked me and I thought back. I cast no spell. I was alive because Kol saved me and Nik's blood turned me, but I had no magic I realized. "What is it?" He asked me as I sobbed. I called upon the wind and nothing came. I sat up and dug her fingers into the earth.

"I can't feel it." I cried. "It's all gone!" I yelled.

"You're in transition?" He asked, but he knew. I said up and slammed my fist into the trees.

"Damn them all to the fiery depths of hell." I screamed. "I will kill them all!" Kol grabbed me.

"Calm yourself. If you go back, they will realize that you are still alive. You are much more vulnerable to their powers now. You can be killed. Speaking of, you have to feed to complete the transition." He said. "Stay here, I will bring you someone."

"If they think I'm dead, does that mean that so does he?" I realized. He nodded. "I have to go to him." I said.

"No, I will bring him to you; we can't risk anyone finding out that you live." He told me.

"But I will be in the compound; the witches don't go there anymore. I will be safe." I tried to explain but he shook his head.

"No Adrienne. I've found that all of this happened with Elijah and Rebekah's help." He said but I didn't understand. "They wanted you dead and here you are. If they know, they may try again." He spoke and my heart ached.

"They hate me so much? They would betray their own brother?" I asked. "This will kill him." I sat back and thought again. "We can't tell him." I figured out. "He can never know that they did this to him." I explained.

"No they can't get away with this."

"Kol, family is everything to him. If he finds out that they helped with killing the person he loves, there will be no saving your family. Promise me you will not tell him."

"How are you going to live with this forever?" He asked and I didn't have to think. I could not keep them safe. Our enemies had won. With my powers gone I couldn't protect us and with his family to blame I couldn't even protect myself against them.

"By leaving and never coming back." I said.

"No, he needs to know that you are not dead." He told me.

"No, he needs for his family to finally be there for him." I argued and cried. "Please Kol; promise me that you will help him. Keep him safe, I trust you." I asked him. "For now, please find me someone, I am so hungry." I told him. He didn't move. "I'm alright please." He left and I had a moment to process. This would kill me, I was weak for him and I would ruin everything by returning. I had to keep them safe and in order to do that I would have to disappear and let them all believe I died. I had to turn it off. I realized and now that the choice was made I felt sane. When Kol returned was calm. It w. I didn't look directly at him afraid I would lose my nerve. He bit into the girl's wrist and the aroma hit me strong. I took gulps of blood into me. The pain from the transformation was nothing compared to the fire and when it occurred I let the instinct take over and plunged my teeth into her neck. It was very satisfying. I turned away from him and wiped my mouth.

"Adrienne? How are you feeling?" He asked me. My emotions were now heightened.

"I need you to do something for me." I said afraid to look at him. "I need you to tell Niklaus that I loved him more than I ever imagined possible. That he was my home and that for this last year I was truly happy thanks to him." I said feeling too much.

"I will, but I really think you should give him the opportunity to leave with you." He said.

"Tell Marcellus that he was important to me as well. That someday my little warrior will grow to be the strongest man and no one will ever be able to harm him. Tell him that I loved him like the son I did not get to have." I continued.

"Adrienne, are you listening to me?" He spun me around and my eyes filled with tears.

"Promise me." I begged him.

"Of course, but you can tell them yourself. I can get them both and you can go live your lives." He said.

"No, I know what I have to do so that the pain of leaving doesn't kill me." I bugged my old friend. He realized quickly what I meant.

"No you can't just turn it off." He told me strongly.

"I have no magic, and a long list of people who want me dead. Without my family, I am nothing." I said and pushed him. I closed my eyes and let it turn off.

"No! Adrienne do not do this!" He yelled, but I no longer cared either way. He ran to me and grabbed me."Turn it on." He said. I smiled. "Turn it on!" He screamed.

"I guess that little trick still doesn't work on me." I laughed and threw him with all my strength away. I ran as fast as u could to escape and he did not follow me. I felt free and untied to anything or anyone. It was liberating I fed when I pleased and did everything as I felt. I spent a very long time on my own. The years meshed together and raged on without my noticing. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything. Until the witches I came across. Her name was Brenda and she was supposed to be making me a daylight ring only it wasn't the spell I was used to. I smiled at her as I looked over her shoulder.

"Brenda, you know I will end you if try anything." I told her. "Don't forget I saved your life and you owe me." I told her and she nodded.

"I have to go and find the right spell, I don't have it on me." She told me. "I'll go get it."

"I'll go with you." I smiled at her and followed her through the wooded area of Massachusetts. It was a trap of course but before I could rip out her throat an entire coven came and stopped me. I tried to escape, I blacked out a lot and woke tied to a vervain vine contraption. I thrashed against it all. "What do you want!?" I screamed. Their leaders Johan and Sherry came to me. I had met them when I arrived in this little town.

"We're trying to save you Adrienne." Sherry said.

"Save me from what?" I asked her, but it was Johan who answered.

"No Bennet witch will plague this earth this way. Vampire or not." He told me and the truth began.


	23. Chapter 23

Adrienne's POV Ch. 23:

It was a grueling few weeks as the coven tried to make me feel again. It was almost pointless to keep trying. Why did it matter if I was a Bennet witch? I was a vampire now and I had no magic. If I ever escaped I would drain the life from them all. I guess that was anger. Johan tried to be tough but he didn't play the part well. Sherry on the other hand tried something different.

"Why do you care what happens to me?" I asked her as she mashed together ingredients in a small bowl.

"Family means a lot around here." She said.

"I have no family." I told her.

"You didn't have a chance to be raised by your parents but you had them and if you saw how they felt about you then you wouldn't take the cowards way out." She said.

"Good luck with that." I told her. She rubbed the paste from her fingers to her palms and walked towards me. "What are doing?" I asked her. I knew my share of magic and knew that if she touched my skin with that it would give her the ability to seep through my mind. I tried to move, but I was weak from lack of blood.

"I'm going to show you." She said to me and placed both hands on my face. It burned where she touched me and then she dug through the memories of my mind. I saw my life with Niklaus and Marcellus as it whizzed by and then my life with the coven in New Orleans. I felt the distance from my parents and the fear they held as their lives ended. Finally I saw them. My true parents and what they had done for me. Their families did not support their union. They were strong but they foresaw my birth and feared the unknown. They ran away and lived in their cottage away from the world. When I was born they gave me all their magic to protect me from a vision my mother had. I was loved and adored by them. They named me Adrienne after my father's late mother. The memory stopped when they were burned alive. As automatically as breathing the switch flipped and I felt everything I had suppressed since the day I became a vampire. I screamed out and cried for the people I'd killed. The numbers were in the hundreds. I saw their faces and I stared at her and sobbed.

"I can't do this." I told her. "I can't handle this." I cried. The pain was more intense than anything I'd ever felt. It couldn't have been the vampire emotions. "Why does it hurt so bad?" I yelled. "Why do I feel so much? Why can't I turn it off?" I cried and continued to try.

"You can't live this way Adrienne. You have more to do than feed on countless souls" She told me. "You must have hope and you must believe that you are worth saving. The family has created a new spell for you, to save you. Your humanity must remain and you must fight everyday to do better or it will kill you." I cried through the pain. They had cursed me with feeling everything for eternity. I couldn't do this alone. I couldn't do this without my loves. I missed them. Over all the pain I tried to hold onto them. I let the love I had for them over power the other emotions. I held on for dear life. Finally and slowly the other emotions faded.

"What now?" I said looking at my restraints through new eyes. She smiled.

"Now we begin with one day at a time." She cut me lose and sat me down. She brought me a cup and I smelled it. It didn't hold the same appeal as what I was used to but I drank it so thirsty for blood.

"What is it?" I asked her. She continued smiling at me.

"Its animal blood." She said. "Would you like more?" she asked me and I nodded. I felt the heat from her body and tried to fight it. She handed me another glass and I chugged it.

To begin again was no easy task. I was a new person yet again only this time I was alone. I was thankful to the witches who have saved me from myself, but I did not belong here. Eventually I parted ways a little more in control of myself. I wandered and grew more lonely. With my humanity on I began to grow depressed. I avoided people and grew more lost. I ended up in New York city when I found out a tragedy.

"New Orleans burned." A man told his friend. "They say not much is left of Bourbon street." He said. I wanted to run there, to see for myself, but a voice pulled me back and told me to calm myself. I drank that day and let the anguish wash through me. What had happened? How many years had I been gone? I wanted to end my pain and since turning it off was not a choice I thought about ending my life. I cried that night more than I ever had before trying to convince myself to do it, when a knock came at my door. I opened it and watched them. They were beautiful and a small light cast from their skin. Were they angels? The younger one smiled.

"Adrienne?" the other asked. "We're friends of Johan and he sent us to check on you. May we come in?" He asked and I couldn't speak so I moved from their path and let them inside. Who had Johan sent and Why?

"I am Edward and this is Carlisle." The younger one Edward said. Did Johan know what I wanted to Do? Did he know I wanted to end my life? The boy looked at me oddly and then to Carlisle. "Adrienne you don't have to be alone anymore." He spoke softly. "There is another way to live." He said.

"Edward is right. Just because we were handed our lot does not mean we can't overcome it." Carlisle told me.

"Why do you care?" I asked them. They sat down around me.

"We are not so different." Edward said. Sure we weren't I thought to myself. "Why don't you come with us? We can show you." He asked me. Edward stood and reached his hand out to me. I stared at him. Who were these people? I may have been depressed but I was far from stupid. Why in the world would I go with them? He smiled widely. "Because we may have the answers you've been searching for." he told me answering my questions. Could he read my mind? He nodded. I stood up and backed into a corner.

"What are you?" I asked him. Carlisle stood and walked towards me slowly.

"We just want to help you Adrienne. If you come with us, I promise that your days will get better and your loneliness will lessen. We can help you control your bloodlust and show you that not everything in this life is a curse." he said. "Trust us." he told me and oddly enough I did. Whoever Carlisle and Edward were they didn't want to hurt me. They could have done so already. I was so lonely that I considered it. I stood gathering my things and took Edwards hand.

"Let's go before I change my mind." I told them and they laughed musically as we left in the dead of night from the city and into the countryside. Carlisle and Edward were vampires, but unlike any vampires I'd ever met. Apparently as Carlisle explained someone tried to replicate the Original witches magic and create an army. She perished when her creations turned on her. He was the first of his family. He turned Edward after getting depressed and lonely like me. Then he found and saved Esme, his wife. She was kind and everything I imagined my mother would have been like, if I knew her. Next and after many years he turned Rosalie. She was vain, but rightfully so. Rosalie was beautiful and mesmerizing. Her mate Emmett was her opposite, he was beautiful like they all were but he was big and muscular. He had a lot more fun. Rosalie was more serious than the rest of them. Alice and Jasper had not been turned by the father figure Carlisle. They appeared twenty years back and joined the family. Like Edward Alice and Jasper had gifts. Jasper could control the way people felt. Alice was beyond anything I had ever seen a vampire able to do. Alice saw the future as I used to. She could see things before they happened. All in all the Cullens were welcoming. They were a true family and I held them close to my heart for taking me in. I spent many years with them. Edward and I became close because there was no secrets I could have from him. When I felt weak it was easier to be around him, because he knew what was wrong with me without having to say anything. We spoke about the pain of this life and the things we left behind. Edward wanted to enlist and serve his country before he grew sick. I told him about my life before my transition. He listened and heard things from my mind.

"I'm sorry that you lost everything." He told me.

"I had to leave them to save them. The worst part is not knowing about them. Unless Marcellus became a vampire, he would have been long gone. And Nik is immortal. He could be anywhere, doing anything. I don't know what he's like now. It's been so long. Am I foolish to hold onto them still? Am I supposed to be moving on, now that I have stability." I asked him.

"I'm the wrong person to ask, having never felt that way for someone before." he told me. "I say if you feel that you can move on that you should. He would want you to be happy, but from what I see in your mind, you only find that kind of love once. Don't look for that, because I don't think it's out there." he told me honestly.

"Has there ever been a vampire spinster?" We laughed together and that was what my life became. I had my family, I kept in contact with the coven, but I never saw them again. My life became boring and mundane and I loved it to a certain point. As we visited the others in Denali, I heard the stories the world heard. Eleazar spoke to us about his anger towards exposure. We all usually laughed at his rants but today it was different.

"Can you imagine? A Vampire Werewolf Army?" he said. My mind was far away and just listened when he said that.

"What are you speaking about?" I asked and Tanya laughed.

"You were not listening?" He smiled at me. "The Hybrid finally did it. He broke his curse. Caused an uproar in a small town, but now we are left with what he can do now." he told me. Edward stood up and pulled me to my feet.

"I'm sorry, I forgot that Adrienne and I have to go, now before we are late." He pulled me up and out into the snowy night. We ran to the cliffs edge and finally he stopped.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I wanted to get you out of there. You shouldn't have to go through this in front of an audience." he told me and I smiled at him.

"I'm not going through anything Edward." I told him. "Thank you, you always try to protect me, but I'm alright. I always knew he would break it, but it changes nothing. They've spent the last four hundred years as a family, I can't come back now." I explained. The snow fell slanted and I watched the night sky, wishing I could see the stars right now.

"You're pretty strong did you know that?" he asked me.

"I have my moments." I smiled at him. I plopped down in the snow and looked up, he mimicked me, when the snow suddenly stopped around us. I looked at Edward. "What just happened?" He asked me.

"I don't know." I told him standing up and touching the clear air around us. He stood too and walked outside the circle that surrounded us and felt the snow falling again, but when I walked to join him the snow cleared again. It followed me where I walked. I looked down at my hands and then at Edward.

"Are you doing this?" he asked me and I looked at my hands again. I couldn't be. I was a vampire, vampires did not have access to magic. I stared at him and he pointed to the sky. "Try to make the wind blow harder." he told me. I lifted my hands and the wind bent at my will. I let out a shout of happiness.

"I have magic! How is this possible?" I stared at him and he smiled back at me. We laughed as I manipulated the earth and wind to whatever I wanted. We enjoyed the snow and Edward laughed with me. Truly happy for me.

"How did this happen?" he asked me as we laid down on the ground looking up at stars through our clear views. I turned towards him. I tried to think of a logical reason why this had happened. My mind ran through all the possible ways. My family, the witches, would not have the power to restore mine, nor would they do it if I did. I hadn't done anything differently. And then I thought about what we were speaking about before I started to manipulate the weather. "He broke his curse." Edward spoke following my train of thought. I had spelled his blood. The blood that I drank to become a vampire. It was tied to his curse, so that when it broke, I would turn and have access to my magic as well, as if breaking my own curse. Edward stared at me and nodded.

"He broke his curse and my magic was restored." I stated.

"It makes sense since you bound your magic in this life to his curse." he told me. "What happens now? Will you go find him?" he said sadly.

"I can't find him Edward. His family would never accept me, they would never allow me to be with him and I can't make him choose. At least I know he finally did it." And that was the truth, so long as their pact of Always and Forever was intact I could not ruin it with my presence. He could be a different person now, he could not want me now. The idea petrified me, to make myself vulnerable enough and get rejected. I wasn't brave enough.

"You are brave enough. You are braver than most anyone I've ever met." Edward reassured me. I leaned into him and he held me. When we returned to the others only our immediate family waited. Rosalie and Emmett paced back and fourth by the far windows. Esme sat watching Alice, who rocked back and fourth and held her temples.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, sitting next to her. Carlisle and Jasper watched me carefully.

"What happened to you out there?" Jasper asked me. Had she seen me getting my powers back? Edward nodded and I looked at them all. Why were they so worried? What had Alice seen?

"What did you see?" I asked Alice, ignoring everyone else staring at me.

"I saw you torturing people Adrienne, I saw you killing them and turning into the same monster as before." she told me.

"Alice, that's impossible." I told her. "I am incapable of doing the things I used to. Even if by some off chance I was capable, the empathy would kill me."

"But I saw you." she told me.

"Your visions have been wrong before." She watched me. "Alice, come on! Now that you've seen that we'll make sure it doesn't happen." I told her. "This doesn't have to be a bad thing. Me gaining my magic again, doesn't have to be a bad thing." I told them.

"How did you receive it?" Jasper asked curiously.

"We think it has to do with Klaus Mikaelson breaking his curse." Edward spoke. They stared at him.

"Are you linked to him?" Carlisle asked.

"My magic in this after life was." I said. They all stared at each other worried.

"Give Adrienne a chance. She's not some monster, she's our family." Edward said obviously hearing something in their mind.

"Of course she is. We're just worried. We don't want Alice's vision to come true." Esme said taking my hand.

"It won't. I promise." I told them and for the time being it was okay. Until I met an immortal named Bree. She was someone we crossed paths with when we decided to visit Isle Esme. A small Brazilian Vampire who lived in the states but was here visiting. She was like me and did not follow our dietary plan, but I found her interesting.

"How long have you been a vampire?" I asked her. While the others did not approve of my friendship, I couldn't help it. I never got to make friends like me before, who could not go outside in the sun and who were not invulnerable to being hurt physically. We walked through the streets of Rio while the others stayed on Isle Esme until sundown.

"About five hundred years." She told me. "I was in England during a time where there were a lot of us out there. It was an extravagant time to be a vampire. We played like royals under Elijah and his family's reign there." she told me and the name took me off guard.

"The Original family?" I asked her. "The Mikaelsons?" She nodded.

"Do you know them?" She asked me.

"Briefly during my time in New Orleans." I told her.

"What a small world!" she clapped. "They leave a bad taste in people's mouth, but I knew that it wouldn't last forever. I couldn't stand the sister Rebekah, so high and mighty, but Elijah and I spent some time together before the doppelganger appeared." She told me. I nodded along.

"Who was your favorite?" I smiled and she edged me on. "Oh come one, between new friends." She said.

"It's all very complicated, maybe when I know you better." I said and she rolled her eyes.

"Did you hear he broke his curse?" She asked me. "And they are all awake now, even the one they used to carry in a box." she told me. She had a lot of information.

"How do you know all this?" I asked her. She smiled widely.

"I keep tabs on what's happening with them, through an old friend who lives where they do. He calls from time to time, to get information from me. Apparently they are causing quite the mess in Mystic Falls." She said.

"Is that so? Like what?" I asked her.

"You first." She told me.

"I had a very brief affair with Niklaus." I said trying to sound like any other woman who was not in love with him. She watched me and smiled.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. He's so sexy and I imagine quite the lover." she said and I looked away shyly.

"What else has happened to the family?" She said turning towards me to gossip.

"He broke his curse and his family is awake, including his mother." she told me and I sat back in awe. "His mother died a thousand years ago." She reminded me.

"I'd heard that." I told her. "How is she alive?"

"No one knows." She told me. "What I do know is that the locals don't like them being there." She told me.

"Why not?" I asked her, showing my emotions.

"Are you kidding?" she asked me. "Klaus has tortured the town, he's sacrificed people to break his curse, and now he's moving in down the lane. Would you be happy about that?" She asked me, watching me more. It wasn't the same, but love was not rational. Now my mind second guessed my feelings. It told me that I would become the demon in Alice's vision if I found him again, but my heart did not believe that. I knew his inner truths, I knew every part of him and accepted it as a part of me. He was not the person he let the world see.

"I guess not." I told her. Edward appeared behind me and took my hand. I hadn't realized that the sun went down.

"Are you ready to come out and play?" She asked him. I smiled at her. "I'm leaving tomorrow, but if you're ever in Florida come visit, I'll show you a really good time." she told me standing up and leaving. She disappeared in the crowd.

"What did you two do today?" He asked me.

"Mostly talked, she knew the Mikaelsons." I told him. A samba began in the street as the street lights came on. I jumped up. "Let's dance!" I told him and with a smile and a laugh he led me to the street with the other dancers. I smiled at where I was in my life, but as I always I wondered if I would ever find a love like that again.


	24. Chapter 24

Adrienne's POV Ch. 24:

Bree and I stayed in touch and she eventually gained my trust. I told her who I really was and even went to visit a few times. In the months that followed we became close. She quickly became another part of the family I was regaining. She couldn't understand why I stayed with the Cullens.

"I don't know why you stay there." She told me. "You can have so much more fun with me." She told me one night. Bree was lonely too, she had never had a family and her list of enemies was endless. She always asked me to come and live with her. Her home was completely relaxing. It was a five bedroom property on the beach. It had a two car garage and the she had complete privacy from any neighbors. It was isolated. We sat on her back porch in rocking chairs. The sun had just gone down. "We can have nights like this every day." She told me, raising the drink her hand.

"You would get sick of me so quickly. I'm not that much fun anymore." I told her.

"It's because you're terrified." She said to me. I stared at her. "No, really, you lived for so long in one extreme of this life and now you live in the other. Just because you used to rip through entire cities, does not mean that you will ever become that person again. You don't have to play it safe Addy." She told me.

"You don't understand who I used to be." I said to her. "I don't know how to be any other way."

"First you can start by getting laid." She told me. I laughed. "It's been how long?" She asked me.

"Niklaus was not the only person I've ever been with." She laughed at me.

"While you had your humanity on?" She accused. I smiled and looked away. "If you are not going to be with him again, and I know that pains you, then you need to move on." She told me. I thought about her words and didn't know how to explain it. I had my fun during my time without remorse, but my heart still held so true for Niklaus, maybe if I knew for sure we would never be together again, then I could move on, but until then I didn't know how to be.

"Someday." I told her.

"You are hopeless." She laughed. As she stood to pour herself another drink, she lost her balance and fell.

"And you are a sloshy drunk." I went to pick her up. When I turned her over she looked like she was choking. "Bree!" I yelled. Her skin began desiccating and I tried to save her with my magic. "No, Bree!" I cried. Then she was dead. She was gone. I sobbed over her body and lost control of my powers for a second. The sky darkened and thunder rolled in. I pulled out my phone and dialed Edwards's number. In sobs I cried to him when he answered.

"Bree is dead." I cried.

"What?! How?" he asked me. "Are you alright?" he asked me.

"I don't know, but I need you!" I shouted.

"Okay." He told me. They were in Chicago, visiting Edwards's childhood city. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Try to remain calm." He told me. "Just relax." He said.

"Alright, please get here soon." I hung up and carried her to her bedroom. I laid her down and cried. "Why couldn't I stop this?" I asked.

"You couldn't have done anything about it." I heard a voice and turned to find no one. I searched around and tried to find them.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Can you hear me?" Someone said, it sounded like the wind. I jumped up and took a defensive position. "Adrienne can you hear me?!" the wind shouted. I couldn't make out the voice, but I was angry. Was this invisible creature what had killed my friend?

"Show yourself." I yelled.

"I can't believe you can hear me, and I can't believe you're alive."

"Who are you?" I asked the person that sounded like the wind. It went silent. "Show yourself!" I screamed and my magic raged on, I turned frantically around the room until I saw them. Both of them stood looking at me and then each other.

"Kol?" I cried more. Had I lost my mind?

"Can you see me now too?" He asked me. He walked towards me and pulled me to him. I felt myself move, but I couldn't feel where he touched. "I guess you can't feel that either." He said.

"Kol, what is this?" I asked. I looked over to both Bree's dead body and herself sitting by it. "Have I lost my mind?" I asked them.

"No sweetie, apparently I'm dead." She said sadly. I ran to her. "I don't know how."

"I think I do." He said. "We are on the other side." He told me. It ran through my blood cold the realization that they were both dead. "I turned you Bree. When I died all the people in my line must have died with me too. It happened when Finn died." He said. Beer looked at him.

"Great so me and countless other died for being tied to you?!" Bree yelled. "Get out of my house!" she screamed and he looked sadly away. He turned to leave but I called out to him.

"Wait." I said. "Give me a minute." I told him and he walked outside the door and waited. I ran to Bree and watched her sadness. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." I told her.

"It's not your fault." She said loudly. "I had 500 amazing years on this earth. I've seen the world three times and found the truest friend in you." She said. "I want you to have the house. It's yours. I know you're not ready to leave the Cullens just yet, but when you are you'll have this place and all the memories we've made in it." She said holding my hands. I felt nothing of her touch."

"Bree I can't just take your house." I started to tell her.

"Of course you can and I won't accept no for an answer." She crossed her arms over her chest, but her tears spilled over her eyes.

"I love you Bree." I told her.

"I love you too Addy." She said. "How about you do some hocus pocus and send me back." She told me. "I just want to be alone to process. I nodded and reached out to her. A bright light shone from my finger tips and when I touched her she disappeared. I sank into my hands and wept for my friend.

"Adrienne." Kol's voice came from beside me.

"I'm sorry." He told me.

"How did you die?" I asked him.

"Some idiots in Virginia are attempting to resurrect a very bad person. I tried to stop the hunter who holds the mark and instead they staked me with white oak." He ran through his explanation.

"What the he'll is happening? Why are you here with me?" I asked him.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked.

"No!" I shouted. "I never thought I'd see you again and to see you and find out you're dead is a little overwhelming." I said.

"I know, but when I died I started to think of my regrets. I started to think about the things that I never got to do and I thought of you. When I did it brought me here." He told me. "I see you've turned on your humanity." He smiled. "I'm glad to see you okay." He said.

"It's so good to see you." I responded. "Really what's going on?" I asked.

"There are always casualties in a war." He said.

"Who are we fighting?" I asked him.

"We are not fighting anyone. I am dead and you are finally free from the commotion that comes with being part of the Original family. You can't go back."

"Kol, if things are as bad as you say, how do I just sit back and do nothing?" I asked him.

"Klaus thinks you're dead. If he finds out it will destroy him. If anyone else finds out what you mean to him, it would put both of you at risk. Don't do it Adrienne. He's hardened more over the years; he will figure a way out of this." He told me.

"I'm sorry." I told him. I looked at my old friend. Of course his features looked the same. The great thing about being a vampire is that we were trapped in our youth forever. My heart sank further down. I had received a gift in seeing him again, but he was gone. I could never have him back the way it once was. "I'm sorry you're dead." I told him.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. I'm glad that I got to see you again. I tried looking for you when I was finally undaggered again." he told me, I stared at him confused. "You don't know anything about what's happened in our lives?" He asked me.

"I know some things. I know what the world knows, I don't ask for details." I explained and he nodded.

"After Klaus thought you died, it wasn't long before I ended back in a box." He said. "He woke me again after a few hundred years, but eventually when he found out I was trying to create a dagger that would put him down, he threw me back in the box and I wasn't awakened until this year." He said. I looked at him sadly. I had to be missing something. "I don't think he ever forgave me for what happened to you. Or he hasn't forgiven himself." He told me.

"That wasn't your fault." I whispered.

"He doesn't know and we can't tell him. Leave it be Adrienne. He's not the same Klaus you left all those years ago." He stared at me suddenly realizing something. "You've gotten your magic back!" he smiled. "How is that possible?"

"I used to drink Niklaus' blood every day. I spelled it using one of your mother's spells. I thought it hadn't worked, but when he broke his curse, it came back. Not the same as before but its back." I explained to him.

"Amazing." He told me. "Under these circumstances it's difficult to be happy, but I am for you. I'm glad you're okay." I laughed out loud.

"Who says I'm okay?" I asked him. He stared at me oddly. "Kol I have only just begun to get back a sense of normalcy to my life. I spent the better part of three hundred years as a ripper." I told him.

"Three hundred years?" He asked me.

"No one ever tried to stop me and I had no one who cared enough to even try." I told him. "I have a surrogate family now, but I'm not the same. Once again an orphan, adopted into an already existing family." I cried. I felt guilty for feeling this way. I loved my family. They made me feel something other than pain again. They had pulled me out of my depression and helped me to live again, but I couldn't help but feel this eternal emptiness where my old life used to be. "I thank whatever force brought us together, but I'm only half of myself." I told him.

"I should have tried harder to find you, when you ran. I should have tried every time I was free from that box. I should have told Klaus, but God help me, I actually didn't want to hurt him further." he told me. "He's not the same Adrienne. If I thought that it could work, if I believed that you two could find a way to be happy, I would guide you to him myself, but I don't. He's not the same as before. He wasn't as jaded before. He was rotted, but not completely, now he's different. I don't know how he would react to you or if he would want to rekindle what you two had." He told me and my heart sank a bit. It was what I feared; he would not love me anymore. "Not to mention I'm not sure how my family would feel about you." To that I smiled.

"The complicated lives of always and forever." I told him. "It's alright Kol; I've long given up on what they've done. I can't hold onto that negativity." I told him. "It's probably for the best; I've changed too much as well. I'm not the Adrienne you all remember. He might not like this version of me." I told him.

"I'm sorry, I truly am." He told me. He turned his head abruptly and looked back at me with sadness in his eyes. "I'm afraid I have to go." he told me. "Will you be alright?" he asked me and I nodded wiping away my tears. "Take care of yourself old friend." he told me.

"You too." I smiled reaching out to him as I had for Bree and let him go. I sat alone for a while once he was gone. I cried for them both as I loved them both and they had both become a part of me. I cried more when I thought about what Kol had said. I had to let go of any part of me that held on to reuniting with Nik. I had to move on, as everyone had told me. I needed to let him go. I cried for the girl who had to let go of her first love. I let go of the darkness that existed within me and called out to me. I let go of part of me and if I had a humanity switch, it would have turned off from the pain this caused. I didn't realize how long I mourned for all of it, until Edward walked into the room and found me curled up on the floor. He did not speak; he simply wiped away the tears from my face, picked me up and walked me outside. He pulled me to his side on the back porch and held me as the tears spilled. Without having to a say a word he knew everything and I thanked the heavens for his gift now more than ever. He was my best friend, he was more than my family, I needed Edward in my life, the way I needed air and he smiled at me.

"I'm not going anywhere." He told me. We sat unmoving for another hour and then after the last tear fell, I wiped my face and stood up.

"I'm sorry you had to endure that with me." I told him.

"I'm always going to be here for you." he said to me.

"I think you are the closest thing to sanity I have." I told him. "Better than a big brother, even if I am technically older than you." I told him and he laughed.

"I wasn't just speaking nonsense when I called you my family. I hope you know that." I nodded and hugged him.

"Thank you." I told him. "Would you help me give Bree the proper burial?" I asked him. He nodded and together we buried Bree and spoke a few words about her life. I said goodbye to her and all the things I had to let go of. A year after all this Bree's house remained empty. I checked on it from time to time, but I couldn't leave them behind and sunny Florida was not the place for my family. We eventually moved to the Mt. Washington, NH and blended as we usually did. Rosalie and Emmett had gone to live alone for a while Edward, Alice, Jasper and I enrolled in high school. It was a little depressing, going to school and pretending, but the younger we began in a place, the longer we could stay in one place. I was starting to get tired of the run around. I wanted a home, with roots. Alice and I began to bump heads a lot. Whenever the occasion called for me to use my magic she would talk to me like a misbehaved child. One day while we hunted she really got on my nerves.

"There is no reason to use magic here. We are not under attack; no one is after you here." She told me. I rolled my eyes and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. She followed me to where I walked away. "I mean creating a boundary spell? What for? Are you listening to me?" She asked me.

"No." I muttered.

"Adrienne this is serious." She told me. I sucked in a deep breath. Jasper either feeling how fed up I was or reading my expression pulled on Alice's hand to follow him.

"I think she understands what you're saying. Let's hunt." I shot him a thankful look and turned away to concentrate. I took down two deer and still was not satisfied. I threw down the third and as I tore into its neck I heard someone gasp over the noise the animal made. I turned my head trying to listen where it came from. Finally I heard running through the forest and followed it. The man looked at me, but did not look afraid. He watched me and ripped a branch from the nearest tree.

"Stay away from me." He said to me. I took a deliberate step towards him. He swung the branch between us and I ducked back. "I said stay away from me Vamp." he told me and I smiled.

"Why are you following me Wolf?" I could sense what he was, just like I used to before I would steal their lives. The way he looked at me, made me realize that no one had ever found out his secret.

"I'm not following you." He told me, I'm just out here hiking." He told me.

"Is that so?" I said taking another step towards him. He jumped back and pulled out a gun, I disappeared into the tops of the trees above us, but he continued to spin around pointing it everywhere. "That's what I thought." I told him from another branch. The gun shot off and I jumped to another one. "You missed." I told him landing on his back and slamming him into the tree, knocking the gun out of his hand. I held him in place as he tried to escape. "What the hell do you want?" I asked him. Alice and Jasper appeared behind me, and he did not see them. I waved them off.

"You'd better kill me." He told me. "Because I'm not telling you anything and your little vampire tricks don't work on me." he said. I slammed him into the ground.

"Adrienne No!" Alice yelled. I sat on his back and pinned him down. With one hand on his face I tried to search through his mind.

"You're Adrienne?" he asked me, but his voice cut off as I entered his mind. I searched for something to tell me weather he was an enemy or not. He fought me and then it all disappeared when I was pushed into the forest.

"Dammit Alice!" I screamed.

"Are you crazy?" She told me. "Do you want to expose us?" She told me.

"He's a werewolf! Who the hell would he expose us to?" I screamed at her. I looked past her and he was gone. "Dammit Alice! He could want something far worse than to tell some humans what we are. And you let him get away."

"Then we will take care of it. It's too dangerous to use your magic." She told me.

"I am so sick of this." I said walking away. When she started to follow me, I turned to both of them and held my hand up. "Don't follow me." I said between my teeth.


	25. Chapter 25

Adrienne's POV Ch. 25:

"Someone could be after us and she puts her nose in all my business!" I vented. "As if I can't be trusted! Why is using my magic evil, but spying on other people's future innocent?" I yelled. Edward smiled.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked him.

"It's just Alice being Alice; you can't take her too seriously. She wants to tell everyone how to dress and live, but that's just Alice caring too much." He told me, and I knew he was right. I loved my sister, but she drove me crazy sometimes.

"But she let him get away. What if he comes after one of us?" I told him.

"We could always leave?" he told me.

"How passive aggressive of us." I smiled. "We just got here. Esme really loves this house." I told him and he nodded.

"Why don't we find him?" he told me, I stared at him shocked. "Come on, let's go find a werewolf." He smiled his crooked smile and we jumped out the window into the forest. Alice and Jasper were long gone, probably just getting to the house. I went to where I had seen him last and looked around. Maybe he dropped something and I could use it to find him. He appeared to be waiting for me and Edward looked at him and pulled me to his side.

"Not so smart to come back." I told him. He shrugged and put his hands up.

"No weapons." He told me. "I just want to talk." He said and I stepped in front of Edward. "I didn't know you were who I was looking for when I defended myself." He said and smiled.

"Why are you looking for me?" I asked him. I looked at Edward as he listened to what was in his mind.

"I'm hoping you can help me. I assume you know about werewolves." He said.

"Some." I told him. He smiled at me.

"Well to clear up some things, we have no control when we turn. It happens every full moon whether we like it or not."

"I'm trying to figure out what you want from me? Don't werewolves hate vampires?" I asked him and Edward squeezed my shoulder.

"I just want to have more control over this. I was told that you could help me." I looked at him shocked and looked up to see Edward nodding.

"Who told you I would help you?" I asked him and he looked away and then back at me.

"Look I came from across the country to find you, can you help me or not?" he said rudely. I scoffed, but Edward took my hand.

"Hear him out." He said. He had seen something in his mind. I nodded. I watched the man, he was more vulnerable.

"I'm listening." I told him. He took a step forward.

"I met a witch back in Arizona, I was looking for someone who could stop my curse or at least help me control it. She sent me to another witch in New York. Lucy told me that she didn't have the power to do what I wanted, but she thought she knew who could. She tracked you down and told me where you could be, but she wasn't sure. Do you know how many people are around this damn mountain?" He told me.

"I don't know anyone named Lucy." I answered. He took off his backpack and started digging through it.

"She said you might say that, so she sent me proof." He pulled out a bundle wrapped in burlap. He handed it to me and Edwards smile made me slightly excited to see what it could be. I took it off the burlap and gasped. It was my own grimoire, which I had left behind in my time with Johan and Sherry.

"Lucy Bennet." I said and he nodded. I opened the book and flipped through old pages. New spells had been added and it was thicker. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to help you." To that note he pulled out a box and showed it to me.

"I've met a lot of witches and some think that this can be used like a daylight ring only to help me not turn." He told me.

"What am I missing?" I said to him. "What are you not telling me?" I asked him sensing something off. "Why do you want this?"

"Why don't I want to turn into a monster every full moon?" He asked me. "Look I'm at my wits end with this. I don't want to be this way anymore. Can you help me or not? Just tell me so I can be on my way." He told me.

"That werewolf mouth is going to get you in trouble." I told him and he smirked.

"Wouldn't be the first time." He said.

"I think you'd find Adrienne to be more willing to help if you are just honest with her." Edward said.

"Why don't you tell her about Emma?" He told him. The wolf flexed and his jaw tightened.

"How do you know about her?" He asked through his teeth.

"Edwards a mind reader." I explained. "And he's right. Why should I help a stranger if you can't even be honest about your intentions?" I said. He looked at us angrily then he sighed and looked away.

"Emma was my girlfriend. She was with me when I first turned. I attacked her without knowing what I was doing." That's horrible I thought. "I didn't know my folks. I didn't know about the curse until it was too late. If I'm ever going to try to have a normal life again, then u have to break this curse." He told me. I took a step forward and he stared at me.

"I get it." I told him. "I don't know if I can help you, but I'll try." I told him. Edward left to tell the rest of our family what had happened and the wolf named Abel and I talked. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. It really is a curse." I told him. I saw the stone he had in the box and flipped through my grimoire. It was a kyanite stone. I remembered seeing this in a different book and I stopped cold. I had seen it in Niklaus' mother's grimoire.

"So you see any witchy stuff that can help me?" He asked me as we sat down.

"You're really impatient." I told him.

"Don't mean to rush, but I am on a deadline. Next full moons just three days out." He told me. I stared at Abel and he stared back. "You know you're not what I imagined a super powerful hybrid vampire witch to look like." He told me.

"Yeah, what did you expect?" I asked him.

"I don't know some old wise woman with gray hair." He laughed.

"Sorry to disappoint." I laughed to. "Look I have an idea on how to get my hands on the right spell, but it's a long shot." He shrugged.

"It doesn't hurt to try." He told me. I closed the book and I closed my eyes. I thought about Kol. I hadn't tried to reach him since the last time I saw him.

"Kol." I whispered.

"You called." His voice came from right beside me.

"Kol." I smiled. Abel looked around and past Kol.

"Who are you talking to?" Abel asked me.

"You don't see him?" I asked. "He's an old friend who I'm hoping can help." Kol looked at me and then at Abel.

"Are you sure you can trust him?" Kol asked me.

"I think so." I told him. "Question is can you help me?" I asked him.

"I know what spell you're looking for, but it's pretty strong stuff." He said. "Are you sure you have the magic?" He asked.

"All I can do is try. Show me." I told him.

"Place your hand over his heart." He told me. When I reached for Abel he pulled back.

"He's showing me the spell." I told him. After debating with himself he leaned forward.

"Good now repeat after me. invocabo sanguinis. spiritus invoco."

"invocabo sanguinis. spiritus invoco." I repeated.

"manifestat hoc anulum. producat in sua potestate" He told me.

"manifestat hoc anulum. producat in sua potestate." I said.

"Take the stone and repeat it again." I placed my hand over the heavy stone and repeated it.

"invocabo sanguinis. spiritus invoco. manifestat hoc anulum. producat in sua potestate." I chanted until my voice was in whispers and I heard the spirits assist me. The wind picked up around me and Abel flinched away and clutched his heart. I felt weak and on the brink of fainting.

"What are you doing to me?" He yelled. I turned to Kol panicked.

"Give him the stone." He said. I did as he asked and when his skin touched it his body stopped twitching in pain. I leaned back against the tree. "You'll have to forge a ring from that piece but it should work. His curse has been placed into the stone. When the full moon comes it will absorb it, but leave him with all the benefits." I smiled weakly up at Kol and looked back at Abel.

"We'll have to wait for the full moon to be sure, but I think it worked." I told him in a whisper. I felt drained. "We'll have to make a ring from that stone." I told him. He walked over to me and crouched in front of me. My eyes blurred and I felt light headed.

"Hey are you alright?" He asked me. His figure started to blur.

"Adrienne!" Kol called out.

"Which way is your house?" Abel asked me, but I couldn't answer. My body slipped and I slipped into the darkness. The nothing swirled around me again. When my eyes opened I awoke in my room. It felt like dejavue. Edward sat with me. He flipped through the pages of my grimoire.

"What happened?" I asked him. He looked at me and smiled. I sat up and looked around.

"Too much magic, too fast? Or maybe too strong a spell and you haven't practiced in a while, I'm not actually sure, but Carlisle checked you out and says you just needed to rest." He explained.

"It was pretty strong." I looked around for Kol, and realize that when I passed out he must have been sent back. "Thank you." I said out loud to him, in case he ever watched me.

"How do you feel?" He asked me.

"I'm okay, still tired if you can believe that. How long was I out?" I asked him.

"About ten hours." He told me.

"What?!" I jumped out of the bed and walked to the door when I heard Alice.

"That is an antique." She said loudly.

"It's just a table calm down tiny." I heard Abel's voice and turned back towards Edward. He laughed.

"What is he doing here?" I whispered.

"He refused to leave until you wake up." He laughed. "Alice is ready to throw him out." I couldn't find it amusing, I ran downstairs and looked at them both. Alice ran to me.

"Thank God you're alright. Didn't I tell you using magic was dangerous? But does anyone listen to me? No." She hugged me. I smiled at her shyly.

"I'm alright Alice, I promise." I told her. I stared at Abel and he looked at me with a small smile.

"How're you doing?" He asked me as I walked over to him.

"I'm okay." I told him. He smiled. "So I guess we'll see if this was all for nothing." I told him and he nodded.

"I guess we will." He told me. On the next full moon, Edward, Jasper, Alice and I waited with Abel in a secluded area off the mountain side. We waited for the moon to reach its apex and when nothing happened Abel hugged me.

"Thank you." He told me. Everyone was happy for Abel. In the days that he'd spent with our family they had heard what had happened to Emma and felt for the man who had no choice in the matter. I turned to Alice as we left the mountain side and headed to the house.

"See not all magic is bad. Look what I was able to do for him." I whispered. She rolled her eyes but laughed.

"I think you're really strong, but anything can happen. Just be careful." she told me seriously and I nodded. Alice was a pain in my side, but it was true that she loved us all very strongly. We had depended on her for a while. Abel and I stayed up admiring the moon. We sat on the extended wrap around porch and talked.

"What's next for you? Are you heading home?" I asked him.

"No, there's nothing there for me anymore." He told me. "I guess I find a new place and start over." He said. I nodded. We did that often.

"I'd like to find a place that we can stay at for more than a few years." I admitted.

"Why don't you?" He asked me.

"My family and I can only stay in a place as long as no one suspects what we are." I explained. "When people start asking questions, we leave." I told him.

"And you ever go to places with bleak weather?" He laughed. "Sounds horrible." He continued laughing.

"I'll find something at least that's sunny. Maybe by the water." He told me.

"I have a place like that." I explained to him. "In Florida, right on the water." I told him. He stared at me not moving.

"If you have a place like that, why do you like here?" he asked me astounded.

"My family can't exactly enjoy the sun, like I do." I told him.

"What are you so afraid of?" I looked at him shocked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I can see it. You're like trapped inside yourself. You try to keep yourself in check, but sometimes I see it slip, I just don't get what you could be so afraid of." He told me. What the hell? Who did he think he was?

"I'm not afraid of anything. If I seem too much in control, it's because I know what it's like to be completely out of control." I told him strongly. "You feel bad about killing the person you loved most?" He nodded. "I've killed hundreds, if not a thousand people, just because I felt like it." I told him. He stared at me.

"And you're afraid that you're going to be that person again?" He assumed. I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You don't know me Abel. Don't act like you do." he smiled at me and it made me more angry.

"Calm down. Why are you throwing a fit? We're just talking. Come on sit down." He waited for me. I rolled my eyes and sat down farther away, in case temptation to hit him became too much to control.

"All I'm saying is you don't seem to belong here. You're the odd man out and I think you're playing it safe." He said.

"Better safe than sorry." I muttered.

"I think you underestimate yourself. I mean for God's sake you are a vampire witch!" He told me. "That's bad ass." I couldn't help but smile. "I owe you a lot for what you've done for me. If you ever decide to leave this place and go at it on your own, you can call me and I'll help you deal." He told me. "I think I'll head to Florida." He smiled.

Abel left the following night, but I couldn't help but think about what he had said. I knew I was different and guarded, but it was necessary. It didn't help that Alice continued to doubt me with her visions. She was now obsessed with me jumping off the deep end and hunting people. Edward tried to help me as much as he could, but I slowly realized that I was everyone's full time job. They treated me as a child, only I never realized it before I spoke with Abel. He'd arrived in Florida a month ago and started working in a bar right on the beach. The full moon came and went and the ring still worked. He called to thank me.

"So how are things going up there?" He asked me.

"The same. There is a dance." I laughed and he sighed.

"That sounds miserable." He told me. "You should come visit me." He told me. "It's weird not to know anyone yet." He explained.

"Maybe. I'll let you know." I heard someone call him. "You have to go?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but think about it. I think you'd have fun here." He told me. "Talk to you soon." He hung up and I walked inside. The others were lounging about reading or doing other things to entertain themselves. Edward played his piano softly.

"How is Abel?" Alice asked absent mindedly.

"He's good. He actually wants me to come visit him in Florida." I told her. Her head snapped up.

"Is that such a good idea?" She said.

"Why not?" I asked her.

"I mean, you barely know him Adrienne." She told him.

"What am I missing Alice?" I said. She looked at me and then at Edward. He spun around and looked at me.

"Maybe you should just keep it close to home." He told me looking depressed and walking away.

"Hey, seriously?" I asked him, but he didn't stop. "Rose?" I asked her. Rosalie told me everything I needed to know when she looked at Alice. Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie started moving away from me.

"This came for you while you were out today." She told me. I looked at the crate and read the postage on it. It was from New Orleans and the hand writing was oddly familiar.

"What's this?" I asked her, taking the box from her hands.

"Maybe you shouldn't open it. I can't see it Adrienne, it could be a trap." She told me.

"A trap for what? No one knows I'm here or let alone alive." I told her.

"Exactly. Someone could have found out." She told me. I ignored her and pulled the lid off and found many things. All of my old things. Small spelled boxes that kept everyone out but me. I found amulets and piles of ingredients for hexes and spells. I smiled and pulled the small note folded in the middle. It read;

'For all of our old times and some of your new ones, I hope we meet again.-K' I smiled, Kol was alive. I didn't know how that was possible, but he was. I tried to think about how that was, but my heart galloped from excitement. Kol was alive and he'd sent me a part of my old life. I pulled out rings and gifts that Nik had given me.

"What is it?" Alice and Esme came closer to me.

"A little part of my old life. It's alright it's not a trick; it's from an old friend. He won't tell anyone I'm alive." I explained. They looked at each other and then me, but I didn't care, I was too happy to have the reminders back.


	26. Chapter 26

Adrienne's POV Ch. 26:

I spent the following month throwing myself back into my craft. I reveled in it. It was a nice reminder of what I was capable of. I was a witch once more and immortal. I laughed at finally getting what I had wanted so long ago, and it not being what I wanted. I would give it all back if I could have the type of love Nik and I shared. He was hard to forget, although I let go of any subconscious dreams of someday reuniting with him. The more I allowed my true self to show, the less I wanted to pretend anymore. Edward began siding with Alice more, as her visions became stronger, but Alice saw what she wanted. I didn't believe that I could fall into the darkness again. It was impossible. Abel was enjoying his time in Florida and he wrote me messages almost every day asking me to go there. I was tempted but I still couldn't leave my family. One morning on our way to high school, I had my own vision and it crippled me.

New Orleans showed behind my eyelids and I leaned my head back. The city was updated, but some places were still the same. The sacred grounds where I once followed the ancestors and where I tried to destroy them stood the Original family as they completed the harvest ritual. The girl did not wake up. The scene before me flew by as time sped up, until finally I stood in my old home where a man sat on a throne and incapacitated Niklaus. I cried and pulled away from this vision. Edward who must have seen everything in my mind clenched his hand on the steering wheel. Don't say anything. I thought and I thought I had seen a small nod. Nik's in trouble. They are all in trouble. Dammit I thought. I had the magic to try and save them, I should try. We arrived at school but Edward did not get out. Alice and Jasper left but looked at me. I tried to go too but he stopped me.

"We're not going today." He said. Whatever I thought I didn't want to be a part of this lie anymore. As he drove I tried to be patient, obviously he had an opinion about what I saw. It was the first vision I have had since my powers came back to me. "You're being ridiculous." He finally said.

"I'm sorry?" I said.

"You want to go save Klaus and his family? The same people who tried and successfully killed you? You can't be that stupid." He said harshly. I stared at him in awe. I felt more betrayed than anything else. Edward and I were kindred, we never fought and hearing him speak made me want to cry. "No you don't get to try and make me feel bad. Do you realize what would happen if you tried to go save them?" he told me.

"What would happen?" I asked him sarcastically. He remained silent. "No, tell me, since you suddenly know everything!" I yelled and he pulled off on the side of the road.

"We all die with you." He said. "You honestly believe that we would let you just go and get yourself killed. We would follow you and we would die with you." He told me. "If the witches don't get you, whatever you saw hurting them all would." He told me. For the first time since we'd met I looked at him like a stranger. He didn't believe in me, right now he didn't even know me. "No Adrienne, I know you better than you know yourself and what's worse is you don't even know what he's like. Klaus Mikaelson is a monster of the truest definition. He slaughters people for no reason other than his own personal gain. Even his family hates him." He told me.

"You don't know him."

"I don't have to know him. If you go back to him he'll drag you down with him." He told me. I stepped out of the car and turned towards the forest. "You know I'm right." He told me, I turned to him and nodded.

"Do you know what I know?" He waited. "You sit here on your high horse, as if you've never taken a life! As if you're better than me. You have no idea what I've had to overcome and what I've been through because you simply read my mind." I took a step away and he followed. "Don't." I told him. "The problem with this family is that you will never understand what I am or why. Don't follow me, don't look for me Edward. I don't want to hear anything you have to say." But he didn't listen and I turn abruptly and without thinking flung him into the car. It dented where he hit and I ran from him before he could react. I ran home and into my room grabbing my things. When Esme entered I was almost done packing.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked me.

"I need to get out of here before Edward or Alice come home. I need to get some space." I told her. I was still angry at Edward and poor Esme got the raw end of my attitude. "I'm sorry." I told her. She sat down next to me and took my hand.

"I know it's not about me dear. If you have to go and clear your head, I understand. God knows I do sometimes." She told me.

"Do you think I'll turn back into my old self being away from you all?" I asked her in a whisper.

"No." she said. She took my face and turned it towards her. "You are strong and brave and a far Vetter person than you give yourself credit for." She said and I hugged her tightly. She helped me put all my things into my car and hugged me again. "'Be safe and know this is your home always." She told me.

"I love you. I'll call you when I get there." I told her jumping into my car and speeding away. I let myself cry for a second and I said goodbye to this chapter in my life. I drove through the night and through the next day, stopping only for gas. When I got to the house, before stepping inside I visited Bree.

"I guess you're getting your way, I left." I said to her grave. "I wish you were here, I'm feeling pretty alone again. What is it about me that I always end up alone?" I asked to no one. "I'll make sure your home is safe Bree." I told the plot. I turned towards the house and breathed in the air. I was going to be okay. I had to be, what other choice did I have. I sat on the back porch and called home. Esme picked up right away. "Hey I'm here." I told her.

"How was the drive?" she asked, but I heard Edward asking for me.

"It was good; I had a lot of time to think." I told her. Edward continued to beg her in the background. "Can I speak to Edward?" I asked her.

"Of course. We'll talk soon." She said and handed the phone to him.

"Adrienne." He sounded horrible.

"I know." I told him. "Look I just need some time. I had to do this eventually right?" I told him he remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry." He finally said. "I didn't want you to leave." He said.

"It's alright, I'm okay. I'm not going to New Orleans." I finally said.

"What changed your mind?" He asked.

"My annoying brother." I tried to sound light. "They will get out of this situation, I have to believe that, but I can't come to the rescue." I said to him.

"What are you going to do instead?" He asked. "You can come home; I promise I'll be on my best behavior." He laughed.

"No, I have to learn to be by myself and learn who I'm supposed to be. You can't keep coming to my rescue either. Live your life." I smiled as I remembered telling Kol the same thing.

"I miss you." He said.

"Me too, but if it wasn't this it would have been something else. I can't keep being so dependent on others to keep me in line; I have to do it myself." I said.

"Don't forget that you are my family and if you ever forget who you are, I'll remind you." He told me. I smiled.

"I'll call soon." I said.

"You better." He responded and I smiled again. He hung up and I stared at the oceans waves for a while and then brought my things inside. The house had been vacant for so long, I decided to clean it. When I finished I spelled it so others could not enter without an invitation and picked a room. When I thought I was almost finished I found Bree's stash of alcohol and pulled out an old scotch. I poured a glass and raised it.

"To you Bree." And drank it. I smiled again and poured another. This is my life, I thought. I opened the sliding glass door and turned on some music and watched the night in my new home. Welcome home, I thought. In the next year I established a routine. Abel became a regular part of my day to day. He didn't live far and busted often. I had started a new grimoire and practiced new spells. I started to get the hang of being a witch again, without fear of losing myself. I started to lose track of my family. Esme called often but the others stopped and soon I stopped trying. Abel and I sat in the sand and talked.

"I mean how do you tell someone you're a werewolf?" He laughed. "Every time I start to get close to a woman, I think about how she would react and end it before it gets too serious. What does that make me?" He asked.

"A chicken." I responded and he laughed and threw sand my way. "It means you're normal. It's hard to be a part of a world no one knows about. I mean I haven't even gotten that far with a man." I explained.

"Do you still think about him?" I knew he meant Nik.

"I try not to." I admitted. "It's kind of rare to find that." I told him. "Do you still think about Emma?" I asked him. He nodded.

"All the time. I don't think I'll ever find another person like her." He told me. The conversation grew depressing and I decided to change the subject.

"I think I'll start dating. I've never dated." I told him.

"Never?" I shrugged. "Adrienne you slut!" He laughed.

"My emotions were turned off, no fair." I laughed with him.

"I can help you out there you know, as a friend. You know what they say practice makes perfect." He joked.

"Ha-ha how desperate am I, my only friend wants to throw me a bone." I scoffed.

"It's not like that, sometimes you just need a release and you need someone who you can trust and that are semi attracted to." He said and I stared at him. Was he serious? "It wouldn't have to mean anything, just a release." He told me. I raised one eyebrow.

"A release?" I said.

"A night of pure guilt free pleasure." He leaned in closer. "If you think you can handle it." He said and I took his words as a challenge. I smiled.

"No strings?" He shook his head. "No feelings at all." He shook his head. I leaned in closer to him and pressed my lips to his. It wasn't love and nowhere close to it, but I was free and I wanted to feel again. What a way to start. After leaving the beach we occupied the bedroom for hours. He was right, it was a release. For months on end he became my companion when needed and returned to being my friend when it wasn't. The system worked fine, until he found Alley. With her he found a woman to love and I was back to only me. I traveled for the next few years and visited Esme before she left for Washington. I made friends along the way and left one of my now many grimoire in the hands of the final Bennet. She had no idea of course, but I gave it to an old friend of Bree's to give to her. I went to Brazil again and this time I enjoyed every second. I was proud of where my life had taken me. It was years later and I had not spilled the blood of a human. I had control of my magic although big spells required more and I was weak when I tried. Once I returned home from my latest adventure in China, I had a vision. They were few and far between, but still happened. I saw Kol and a harvest girl coming here. I didn't know when but it would happen. When they arrived two months later, I expected them. I hugged Kol and welcomed them into my home.

"You two are something else." I told them as we spoke and drank. "How many times have the two of you died and come back?" I asked them.

"Too many to count." Davina smiled. "So technically you're a New Orleans witch." I nodded.

"Not by choice." I said. Davina and I had an unspoken connection. The ancestors had betrayed us. It was all more new to her than I but I sympathized for the young witch. "It's really complicated, but I've moved past it. I'm sure you will too." I said to her.

"I feel like this can't be real." She explained. "Like I'm waiting for them to pull me back." She said. I nodded and Kol comforted.

"How's Nik?" I asked him, he had avoided the topic for a while.

"You know my brother always in the thick of it." I smiled.

"He has a daughter now?" I asked them. They looked at me oddly. "Relax I'm not going to go chasing after your brother, it's just nice to know he found his always and forever." I told them. "Did you ever hear about his adopted son Marcel?" I asked them and they both looked at me like I was insane.

"I guess you wouldn't know." Kol said. "Marcel is a vampire, he's king of New Orleans."

"My little warrior king?" I asked smiling.

"Your little warrior is not so little and no longer so innocent." He told me, Davina looked at me with sad eyes.

"He's still Marcel." She defended. "He's still family." She uttered. Kol squeezed her hand and nodded.

"I'm sorry love. I know you care for him, but he still tried to kill us." I stood up.

"Tell me everything." I said. I listened to what had become of my little warrior, and it shocked me to no end. As I feared he had been immersed in the darkness of this life and probably suffered now.

"Are you alright?" Davina asked.

"Just a lot of information." I told her. "Seems you and I have a lot in common Davina Claire. I'm sure we'll be fast friends." I did. "Can you two stay for a while?" I asked. "I have so much room and would love to keep catching up." Kol looked at Davina who smiled. Their visit turned into permanent residency the longer they stayed. I enjoyed them being here and Davina felt safe in my home. I felt for the poor girl, but all in all she was fine. She had found in Kol what I had once had and it made me happy for him. Weeks past and everything I thought I had let go of came flooding back. With a part of my past rebuilding a future, I started to have hope that I would see him again. One day as we enjoyed the breeze outside his phone rang incessantly. He ignored it and eventually listened to the messages that were left. His family wanted him to go back. To help stop the Hollow and save Hope. When he heard it he looked at Davina and then at me.

"You're going to do it?" I asked him.

"Do what?" Davina asked.

"Take in the hollow, to separate it." I told her. "You realize that you'd be taken in a bigger evil than you've ever known. That she could affect your mind. She'd want to be whole again, she'd want to try so long as you are all together." I told him.

"I have to go, it's to save Hope." He told me.

"There has to be another way. Let me come with you, we'll try to find something else." He stared at me and shook his head.

"Absolutely not. It's not safe and the decision has been made. I'm leaving; I will take in the Hollow and leave again." He said.

"You'd risk never seeing your family again, than to let me help?" I asked him.

"Don't you see?" He said. "You are my family too; I'm protecting everyone in this. It's not worth the risk and it's not worth losing you again." he told me. He reached over to Davina and kissed her. "I'll be back as soon as I can." He said. I watched him leave, angry that it had come to this. Angry that I couldn't help. Davina worried as soon as he was out of sight and I tried to at least make her relax and opened a bottle of wine. We drank and sat out back on the rocking chairs.

"I'm worried." She told me.

"Of course you are, but Kol is pretty committed to you. I know he'll do everything in his power to come back to you." I told her.

"Why are you so against it? What kind of things should I expect from this?" She asked.

"As a child my parents told me horrible stories about the hollow. It feeds on magic and craves more. If she's inside of them, it means they have to remain separate so she doesn't find a way to combine herself again. She is still the hollow, she will try to control them and darken them. They can fight it, but how long until she wins?" I asked her. Her face darkened and I remembered I was supposed to be helping her. "I will figure something out Davina, I always do." I told her.

"Can I ask you something?" I nodded. "How did you fall in love with Klaus?" She asked me.

"The way most people do, I guess. We were together in a time where I didn't care about right or wrong and I tried to help him get what he wanted, because it helped me in the end. We spent a lot of time together. The more time we spent, the easier it was to be honest and real and I saw him for who he truly was. He accepted me as I was, with all my flaws. I guess when the whole world judges you before knowing the truth; it's hard to make those kinds of connections. With him it was epic." I said feeling sentimental. "I loved him, and I don't think it was a choice, it was like my second nature, like breathing." She watched me.

"It's hard, I only know one Klaus and he's not like that." She told me and I shrugged.

"People changed. It's been so long, I'm not sure if he would feel the same even if I did come around again. I'm not the girl he fell in love with." I told her.

"Do you want to be?" She asked.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. It was intoxicating to be that powerful, and to have people fear you, but it proved the ancestors right at the end of the day. I lost everything trying to get more power, so no, I don't want to go back, but I wish it wasn't so complicated." I told her.

"Have you ever loved anyone else?" I shook my head.

"Niklaus was my first and last love." I explained.

"It's kind of romantic. I thought I loved someone before, but it didn't feel the way it feels with Kol. I need Kol like I need air." She told me. I smiled.

"I'm glad he's found you. I never thought it would happen." I told her.

"Yeah he was kind of a slut." We laughed and kept talking all night. She tried to wait for Kol, but he was going to be really late. When it got late I waited for him instead. I was angry that they had chosen to do this, instead of allowing me to help them. I closed my eyes and tried to search for Kol, but my heart tricked me and I searched for Nik in my mind. I didn't see where he was or what he was doing, instead I felt his pain and it broke me. I tried to reach him and tell him something anything, but nothing came to mind. Then I heard the tires in the driveway. Kol was home.


	27. Chapter 27

Adrienne's POV Ch. 27:

I listened as he entered the house and into his bedroom. He was checking on Davina. Before I could go bring him outside he walked out and towards me. He sat down and without looking at him I spoke.

"How was the trip?" I asked.

"It was long and lonely, but I couldn't take Davina with me to that place, she's finally free." He told me.

"She tried to stay up and wait, but I knew you would be late." I said. I tried to gather my composure and let the silence between us help. "Is it done then?" I asked sourly.

"Hope is safe." He told me and I turned away from him again, avoiding his eyes.

"You are all fools." I spat.

"What choice did we have?! It was killing my niece." He told me and I became suddenly calm. I knew he was right, I just wish I was a part of it. I wish I could help them. Nik had lost his entire family in one day and now was all alone and devastated.

"I'm sorry." I said. "It can't be easy to be apart from your family, when you're all finally getting along." I told him, knowing it had not been an easy road for them.

"Our separation is worth it, if Hope can stay safe and have a normal childhood." He said. I thought about the situation this poor child was in now, to be raised without her father or family.

"And Niklaus loses everything." I whispered feeling his pain again.

"Nik's resilient, he'll be okay." He said, but I didn't believe him. I felt what he was feeling and it was as if he was a huge beacon calling out to me. He needed me.

"Maybe I could help him." He shook his head.

"They think you've been dead for four hundred years, sweetheart. They are forced to start anew. They have nothing now and they would not hesitate to kill you again." He told me.

"Your siblings can't go near him without helping the hollow. They will never know." I said trying to find a way around his concerns.

"He will know that something happened. If you go to him and if he finds out the truth about what they did. He will go confront them. And then all of this will have been for nothing." I stared at him.

"It's not right Kol; I spent so many years without him, emotionless. I'm finally in a good place, where I have the ability to help him, and I can't." I cried to him.

"The love that you and my brother shared was grand, I remember, but its run its course. Let it be. In the end it would only hurt him more than he's already hurting." He whispered. I wiped my face and looked away again. I tried to take advantage of the silence. He sat with me and stared off into space. While his mind was elsewhere I thought about what he had said and tried to sort through it. I thought about it and wanted nothing more than to find him and be there for him. I thought I knew where he may be. Kol started staring at me and then finally he spoke and I looked up at him.

"I never got the chance to tell either of them what you said." He told me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him confused.

"Klaus daggered me again soon after he thought you died that I never got to tell him what you told me. He never left me alone with Marcel to tell him either. I thought about telling him again this time around, but so much has changed." He told me and I nodded. I knew he hadn't, Kol had a complicated life.

"It wouldn't have made a difference." I told him and decided to go to my room and think alone. "I am going to bed. See you in the morning."

"Good Night." He watched me leave and I went into my room and waited for him to go to bed. When I knew he was asleep, I packed a bag and started shoving my grimoire's in a bag. I took my regular travel pack and started to write a note. I knew this could be catastrophic, but Nik needed me. I was strong enough to handle this. If he saw me and rejected me that was fine. I had to see him and help him. I wrote a quick good-bye, it read:

'I'm sorry, but I have to try. He needs me and I have to try. Forgive me.'

I left that night in the dead of night and drove through following the pull away from me. Finding him was harder than I thought. He moved around so much I couldn't get a location on him, until he arrived in New York. I hadn't been back here since Carlisle and Edward came for me so many years ago. When I found him and he was alone a true fear struck me. The anxiety alone almost killed me. I looked at myself in the mirror and tried to fix the already fixed hair. I tried to see myself from his eyes, I had changed. My hair no longer reached my lower back, as it had four hundred years. Instead I wore it slightly longer past my shoulders. My face had not changed, since I was a vampire, but I wore makeup today and I had not back then. I thought about scrubbing all of it off. I was so nervous. The clothes in this day, though more comfortable, was not as appealing as my corset dresses. I wanted to seem as familiar as what he fell in love with as ever. I missed my opportunity panicking. I decided to get a grip before reaching out to him. I tried to mentally prepare, but if I didn't move quickly he would move on before I had the chance as he had for three weeks. I followed him that morning seeing him walk into a coffee shop; I stared at him from the window front and turned away quickly when he turned around. I hailed a cab and rode it back to his loft. I waited for him to return and then decided just to do it.

I knocked on the door with every intention of speaking, but as the door opened I ran inside in a blur and hid behind a wall. I peered through a crack and watched him, deadly afraid again.

"If you come out now, I promise to end your life quickly." He said and took a step towards where I was. I disappeared to the other side of the loft. "Your choice, I enjoy taking my time." He told me. I took a deep breath and walked behind him.

"What if I ask nicely? Would you let me stay then?" He turned towards me and his face was as expected, shocked.

"I've finally lost my mind. Great." He said and closed the gap between us. He was so close and I felt my entire mind adjust into place. I smiled at him and laughed. He thought it was a ghost. He stopped advancing towards me.

"Who are you?" He asked. "What do you want from me?" He asked again. I couldn't speak. "Answer me!" He yelled. I took a slow step towards him, ready to prove myself. When I was right in front of him, I spoke.

"Shh, it's alright love." I said. "Don't be afraid of me, it's really me, I'm here." I told him. I reached for him and touched his face. He closed his eyes then opened them slowly.

"Then I must have lost my mind." He told me.

"Do you have delusions often?" I asked him smiling. He took me by surprise when he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer. My breath caught in my throat. I felt his strong arms and let my guard further down.

"Never this realistic." He told me. He leaned down and brushed his lips on my neck and I started to feel light headed. I shivered involuntarily

"Niklaus." I said wanting him to never stop. "I am here my love. I am no delusion. I am a vampire now." I tried to explain but he just stared at me. "Please believe me." I begged him.

"How can I? I watched you burn. I watched you continue to burn 400 years later when I returned to the city. This is only my minds way of helping me cope with my loss." He said to me sitting down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and concentrated on something. He threw his head back and closed his eyes. "You're not real, go away." Frustrated with his response I strattled his lap and took his face in both of my hands. I brought our faces close together and spoke.

"If you don't believe what you see, then perhaps you'll believe what you feel." I kissed him and let all my pent up aggression out on him. I kissed him for all the years that we were apart and let him feel how much I'd missed him. I pushed myself onto him, letting our bodies meet again. His hands began to pull me closer and touching me all over. Finally I broke away and I tried to catch my breath. Sitting on him this way was far too tempting so I pushed myself back and sat on the coffee table. "Do you believe me now?" I asked him, still wanting to be with him more than ever.

"Without a doubt." He pulled me back into his arms and our fire ignited again. It was better than I remembered. Our bodies united and it was like all those years did not happen. We were not the same people, but our love was the same, of that I was sure. In reuniting I felt a pull that was unlike I'd ever met. He was my everything once more and I was his forever, no matter what, I would not give up on this love.

PRESENT

"You weak child." She told me. "You can't beat me. My power is unlimited." She told me. I let my hand slip from his as we fought and fell back. My body began thrashing onto the floor and I joined her in my subconscious. I appeared in New Orleans. I walked towards her confident in my plans. I had strength within me. The ancestors may think that I was destined to be evil and destroy the world much like the hollow, but she had not experienced what I had. She had not been through hell and back to reunite with love. She had not endured the pain I had and survived. I knew what I had been destined for, it was in the first vision my birth mother had while she was pregnant with me. I was destined to defeat the hollow, only it would cost me a lot. The love that I had been gifted was real and I had planned on sacrificing my life to defeat her, but I knew I didn't need to, I was stronger than her and I had to show her.

"I am the daughter of the original bloodlines of witches." I told her, sending her flying into the farthest space. She stood quickly. "I am a New Orleans witch." I said sending her flying again. "I am a vampire made from the blood of the Original Hybrid. And you actually believe that the power of some weak," I pulled her towards me and restrained her in place. "Pathetic monster," her body laid out on the ground trapped. "Is stronger than me?" I laughed and in my hand appeared a dagger that was ancient and glowing fire red. I now knew what this was. It was a spirit dagger and with it, you could punish the guilty or release the spirit of the person you wanted. I walked towards her.

"If I die, you die, we are tied together now, and I made sure of that." She told me obviously frightened.

"I'm not afraid of death but you should be. While you crept inside my body and took lives I had a vision. I saw how to beat you and I did it. This is my prison for you." I plunged the dagger into her heart and twisted it. She cursed out in pain and screamed out in agony as her death finally came to her. "I hope you know what's waiting for the hollow." I told her. "The best place for the hollow is my newest and strongest spell." I smiled. "The nothing." I plunged the dagger further into her and watched as her spirit fell trapped in the prison world. The ground around Her crumbled and she fell through screaming. I held on to dear life as it happens hoping I wouldn't be trapped with her. I called out to whoever listened to me when I prayed and ask for another chance. Someone must have heard me because Her magic was all that was left in her place along with a human girl, in the abyss that was her prison. I had been able to save everyone I loved. I turned back to her floating magic and asked my true ancestors to take it away. I let my mind soar to where Davina was trapped. She jumped as I approached. Rebekah was there with her and she crouched in front of Davina protectively.

"It's me. It's Adrienne." I told them. "Davina She's gone for good." She ran to me. "It's time to wake up." She looked at me as Rebekah disappeared.

"Are you going to be there when I wake up? Are you alive?" she cried.

"I'm alright. It's going to be alright, but I have to leave you for a little while." I admitted. She looked up at me with her sad eyes and then hugged me tighter. "I'm going to be honest it does look bleak. She trapped me to her and when I punished her and sent her away, I became trapped here too. I can wake up, but not before I'm unlinked from her spirit." I explained.

"I promise I'll save you." She told me.

"I love you all." I told her, "Tell them I'm alright." My mind raced back to my body and I sat in my home within my subconscious. I had done it, and lived. No good deed goes unpunished, but it could be worse, I could be dead. My loved ones would find a way out of this and I would be free to spend forever with them. I thought about Nik and hoped that he was okay.

KPOV

Adrienne had not woken up in some time and I was starting to worry. I held her head in my lap and whispered to her.

"Adrienne, please wake up love." I told her. "I just got you back, I can't lose you again. Please Adrienne." Marcel stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder. Kol paced back and forth and then answered his buzzing phone.

"Davina is awake." He shouted to me. "Adrienne's alive, but we have to get out of here Nik." He told me.

"What?" Marcel asked.

"She's trapped there, but she's alive. We have to get out of here before they realize her spell is down." He told me.

"Let them come." I said. "I'll kill them all." I promised.

"And what will you do if they kill her body? She will never come back." He told me. Marcel walked in front of me and nodded.

"We live to fight another day." He told me and I nodded. I scooped Adrienne up in my arms and followed Kol. Marcel grabbed Elijah. When I looked back Annette and Aro were waking up. She stared at new and at Adrienne body and then at Aro. I ran before he saw me. It took us a little longer to get far enough away only to realize no one followed. We were back on the train within an hour and relaxed as we left the Italian border.

"What did Davina say?" I asked Kol.

"I didn't speak to Davina, I spoke to Rebekah. She told me Adrienne came to her and told her that she didn't count on the hollow tying herself to her, but she did stop her." He explained.

"She s just trapped in her mind?" Marcel asked. I looked down at her and pushed the hair from her face. She looked asleep.

"I'll know more when we arrive." He told me. It took longer to reach England and when we got there Alice was waiting.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I asked you not to come." I said.

"Adrienne is my sister, I had to be here." She said as I laid her down on the bed. Davina ran to Kol and Rebekah to Marcel. Alice crossed the room and knelt beside her. "I know what I saw now." She whispered to her. "I know it wasn't you I saw all those years ago hurting all those people. I'm sorry that pushed you away." She told her. "But we're going to get you out. Carlisle is going to find the strongest witches and we're going to get you out. You don't have permission to leave us yet." She told her.

"Can she hear you?" I asked her and she nodded. "I've tried to see her, I've tried to reach her mentally but it doesn't work." I crossed over and stood on Adrienne's other side. Alice looked at me.

"I don't know why, but I know she can hear us." She told me. "I saw it."

"What did you see?" Kol asked her. Alice stood up and faced us.

"I saw Adrienne in her house, only it wasn't. It was an illusion she created in her subconscious. There's no one there with her, she's all alone. But she hears echoes of the real world." She told us. I looked at Adrienne lying there and I wanted nothing more than to help bring her out.

"What do we need to get her out?" Marcel asked.

"Witches?" I asked her.

"We need the witch. I can't see her yet, but she's the one who has to unlink her from the prison she created for the hollow." She told us. "Carlisle and the others are already searching and when we find her it's just a matter of doing the right spell to unwind her without releasing the hollow." She told us.

"What can we do?" Davina said.

"Take her home and try to find a willing witch." She said. I looked at Kol and he nodded. "I brought your plane." She said. "I thought you might need it." The others started to grab their things and left me alone with her.

"We're going to take you home sweetheart. I'm going to do everything I can to bring you back, I promise. I love you." I told her and I missed her lips softly. "Forever." I whispered.


	28. Chapter 28

Klaus' POV Ch. 28

Finding the right witch turned out to be more difficult than we had thought. Everyone had called upon all the witches they knew. I called in every favor I had left, but so far those who came were unsuccessful. The family spread out again. Elijah still had no recollection of who we were but Fraya had a handle on his whereabouts. The Cullens, all but Edward and Bella, were scattered about trying to find anyone to help. Marcel and Rebekah had gone back to New Orleans to find someone else. Fraya had tried to no end. As the days turned into weeks and those turned into months, I started to panic. Kol and Davina dove into creating the spell that would unlink her from the hollow and bring her back to the surface. Edward and Bella came to visit her mother and while Bella spent time alone with her, he came to see Adrienne. He could no longer read her thoughts. I spoke to her every day. I'd only left her a handful of times to visit Hope. Today I sat next to her on the bed and read her own poetry to her.

"We will figure this out sweetheart. I can't imagine what it must be like in there. But you are not alone. We are here and we are doing everything in our power to save you. This is not the end." I told her. I knew what we needed; we needed a witch strong enough to break the hollow's magic. There had only ever been one witch and she was trapped now. As any other day Davina and Kol left for the morning and Edward arrived there to see Adrienne, but today a knock came on the door. I went to answer it but Edward appeared there first.

"Trust me." He told me. When he opened the door I didn't recognize the man who stood there. "Abel, it's good to see you again." He told the man. I watched him carefully. The man smiled at Edward and shook his hand; his eyes veered to me and then back to Edward. "Come on in, meet everyone." Who was this guy and why was he getting invited inside? "Klaus, this is Abel, and old friend of Adrienne." Edward smirked. Abel nodded at me and I reached over to shake his hand. He gripped it tighter than necessary and I almost laughed. I looked down at his ring and found it to be oddly familiar. It resembled the ones my mother forged for the wolves back in New Orleans.

"So you must be the hybrid." He told me after letting my hand go and stepping inside.

"I am the Original Hybrid." I smiled and he rolled his eyes. "And you are a werewolf, with a special ring." I told him. He stared at me and creased his eyebrows. Edward stepped to me and shook his head. "Nothing to be worried about mate." I told him. Edward brought Bella to the living room and introduced her.

"On a better note Abel, I'd like you to meet my Fiancé, Bella." She blushed and smiled and reached out to shake his hand.

"Fiancé? Wow congratulations." Abel said smiling again. "Never thought I'd see the day." He told him.

"Thank you." Bella said shyly.

"So what brings you here Abel?" I asked as we sat down in the living room. He stared at me and his anger radiated.

"Edward called me." He said and smiled when he saw my reaction. I looked at Edward and he smirked harder. "Since no one around here seems to be able to make anything happen." He told me.

"Is that so? And what is it that you've made happen, wolf?" I asked him.

"I brought a witch for starters." He told me. I looked around. "She's not here now, she doesn't like vampires." I rolled my eyes.

"You want to bring her here, around Adrienne the witch vampire?" I asked him.

"Calm down Klaus. Abel would never hurt Adrienne." Edward defended. Something about the way he said it made me feel uneasy.

"How do you even know Adrienne?" I asked him and he smiled from ear to ear. Edward looked at Bella and then spoke in whispers.

"Why don't you go enjoy the view from the back deck?" She looked at him for a moment and then she nodded and walked around us and past the sliding glass door. I watched Edward, when she was out of sight he turned back to me. "We met Abel some years back; Adrienne helped him take control of his curse." He told me and I smiled.

"Hence the ring." I stated and Edward nodded.

"It was a bit more than that Edward." Abel told him. "We practically lived together for a few years." He said. It was silly to be angry. I certainly did not remain alone in all these years. I didn't know she was alive, but still. It should not surprise me that she had a life outside of our, I had, but still it bothered me immensely that this person was here in front of me and mocking me. I nodded.

"Did you come here to try and make me feel threatened?" I asked him.

"No, that's just a bonus." He told me. He turned towards Edward. "Where is she? And can she actually hear us?" He asked and Edward nodded.

"She's in her bedroom." Abel stood and before I could stand to stop him, Edward shook his head. Abel disappeared and walked down the hall towards her. "He won't harm her, you may not like him, but when it comes to Adrienne he would never hurt her." He told me, and I leaned back.

"I'm not leaving her alone so some witch could come here. She'll have to deal with me." I told him and he nodded. Edward was easy to speak with, you didn't have to explain your reasoning to him, and he just saw it in your mind. I listened intently and tried to hear what he was telling her.

"Some mess you got yourself in girl." He told her. "Don't get me started on the hybrid; I thought you'd learned your lesson." He chuckled. "I got a friend who's coming to help, she's cool, you'd like her, she's bad ass too." He told her. Edward reached for Bella as she walked back. He too was listening, but to me and Abel. "Ally's pregnant." He told her. "She's about ready to burst. You should visit me when you're out of this magical coma. I could drink you under the table before I become responsible." He told her. "You have to come back to us Adrienne, even if it's to be with the hybrid. We need our girl back." He told her. After a few minutes I finally looked at Edward.

"Once you know her, it's hard to love her." He whispered. "She's one of a kind." He told me.

"That she is." I told him. Abel walked out and sat down across from me. "I'm not leaving so your witch will come. You're going to have to get her here regardless."

"I'll do that, for Adrienne." He told me sourly. Edward held Bella closer.

"What exactly is your problem with me?" I finally asked him.

"I don't like you." He told me.

"Guys take a break." Edward said.

"No, let him speak. I don't care if you like me. I don't care if you hate me." He said.

"You don't care about anything do you? As long as you get what you want." He responded. "You are everything that I hate about this life. I couldn't help being a werewolf, hell it's in our blood from birth, but eventually we deal." He told me. "You turned dozens of people into monsters, took away their lives and for what? To be the big bad wolf?" he asked me.

"Ah I see now. I killed your friends maybe some family? Guess what, I can't change the past! It seemed necessary at the time, and to be quite honest I would probably do it again if I could change it." I told him, he stared up at me.

"I never got it; I couldn't understand why she loved you. You two are nothing alike. She deserves better than the monster that haunts the world."

"Are you jealous?" I baited him. Edward stood and led Bella back outside.

"Enough." He told us both.

"No, Edward. I'm not jealous you moron. Adrienne is the best thing we have in the world. There is no one like her. She comes back into your life and in less than six months you've destroyed her."

"I've destroyed her?" I asked him.

"She was trying to save you!" He yelled and we both stood up. "She's in this state because of you!" he yelled. I did feel the guilt. She had a simple life before waltzing back into my life. I stared at him and then took a step back.

"That is enough!" Edward yelled. "We are all guilty of failing Adrienne in one way or another, but the only way to bring her back is to be here for her and help in any way we can." He told us. Abel backed down and looked to the ground.

"We can't all be here when she gets here." He told us. "One vampire we can get away with not more." He looked at Edward.

"When will she be here?" I asked him. He looked down at his phone and then at me.

"Less than half an hour." He said walking away from me.

"We'll leave, but you'll need to call Kol and Davina." I nodded pulled out my phone and called them. When I came back Edward and Bella were gone. Abel sat outside and I walked over to the door.

"What do you know about this witch?" I asked him.

"I know I can trust her. She's not the most powerful with all the spells, but she has gifts that can test even Alice's limits." He told me.

"She has visions?" I asked him. He nodded.

"It's more precise than Alice though. She doesn't see whatever path you're on; she sees the true future without blind spots." He told me. I nodded. When the knock came at the door a few minutes later I fell back and let him answer it. When he walked back the witch expected me. She was tiny and olive skinned. Her hair was short to her shoulders and covered most of her face. She stared at me and looked around the room nervously.

"Thank you for coming." I told her and she nodded quickly.

"Elly this is Klaus Mikaelson." He introduced us. She nodded.

"Nice to meet you." She said.

"Likewise." I told her.

"May I see Adrienne?" She asked and I nodded and led the way. The small girl was odd and serious, but Abel relaxed more in her presence. When we walked into the room she sat at the edge of the bed and took Adrienne's hand. She sucked in a big breath and her eyes went black. I heard the whisper of the spirits. Abel looked at me and then at Elly. She took several minutes. I could only guess that her power worked like Aro's and she needed physical contact to see what she wanted. How far could she see? Finally after a solid ten minutes she stopped and dropped Adrienne's hand. She turned towards us with the same expression.

"What did you see?" Abel and I both asked. She lifted one finger to her ear and walked out of the room. When we arrived in the back porch she turned to us both. "Did you see the witch we need?" I asked her. She nodded.

"I saw many things. Adrienne will not wake for a long time. Although the Hollow is powerless now, she remains tied in every way to Adrienne. If you try to wake her before the witch is ready than the hollow will be released and she will gain her power back and terrorize the earth." She told us. "The witch we need is your daughter." She told me and I looked at her oddly. "On your daughter's 18th birthday she will be more powerful than any witch that has ever walked the earth. Only then will she have the power to release Adrienne from this curse." She told me. Hope was the witch. That was a lot of pressure for my little girl and I wasn't sure I could ask her that. Not to mention it would take ten years to wake Adrienne. What would the loneliness do to her? I sat back on the chair. Abel walked over to Elly and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you." He told her. "Can you see how she is?" he whispered.

"Yes, she's a fighter, but the loneliness will grow to be overwhelming."

"How can we help her?" I asked her.

"Hearing you all will come to be too much. She is not a part of your lives right now and it will make her desperate. You must to do her what you did to your siblings. You must dagger her." I looked at her and then Abel.

"You want me to dagger her?!" I asked her, and Abel placed himself in front of her.

"Calm down." He told me and turned his back to me. I opened and closed my palms to calm down. "Are you sure about this? What difference would that make?" He asked her.

"Right now, Adrienne used her magic to create her own world. She's there alone. Right now she's holding on to the hope that she will wake up soon, but the longer she stays there the worse it will be. She'll wake up to be the same monster she used to be." She told us.

"That's impossible." I told her.

"Adrienne is a witch, with nothing but time on her hands, she will figure out how to break the stupid spell the Bennet witches cast." She told me.

"How do you know about that?" Abel asked her confused.

"I learned it through my family." She told us. "My name is Elizabeth Mason, from the Mason witch line." She smiled for the first time.

"You're related to Adrienne."

"Distantly." She responded.

"So we should just take your word for it that we should dagger her." I told her.

"What do your daggers do?" She asked me.

"They incapacitate a vampire." I told her.

"They temporarily put them down. She would not feel anything, she would not see anything, when she wakes up she would not know how long she was down." She told me. "Ultimately the choice is yours. You know your options and what will happen if you don't. I don't care one way or another." She said coldly.

"Elly, I think it's time you go. Thanks for coming." Abel said looking at me. She nodded.

"It was nice to meet you Klaus." She muttered and Abel put his hand up as I took a step towards the dastardly witch. She left and I sat back down. When he walked back I had my face in my palms.

"At least now we know what we need to do." He told me, I stared up at him and watched him sit.

"And you believe it's that simple? I would have to dagger her and put her somewhere safe where no one can harm her, as I did with my siblings. Then wait ten years to resurrect her. Also I have to ask my daughter to cast a spell so strong, it can bring her harm. Did I miss anything?" I asked him sarcastically.

"I get it." He told me.

"I highly doubt that." I told him.

"I have a baby girl on the way. She will be here in the next couple of months and in the same situation, I would never let her do it. I can't imagine what that has to feel like." He told me. He was right; Hope should be nowhere near this. I didn't want her anywhere near the hollow. She was finally free. "She may be right about the dagger though." He told me. "You don't know how she gets when she's lonely; she thinks she's cursed to be alone." He told me.

"Why would she believe that?" I asked him.

"She spent 300 years by herself massacring people with her humanity turned off. She finds the Cullens and ends up alone. We spent a few years together and even I left her." He looked away sad. "Imagine how she must feel to finally get her life back and to lose it again so fast. She won't be able to handle it." He told me. I sat back. "I called Edward." He told me. "He'll be here soon. Why don't you call your brother?" I pulled out my phone and texted Kol mechanically. I couldn't speak. It was an impossible decision. I walked over to the room where she laid and sat down with my back to her.

"I love you more than you can ever know." I told her. "I'm trying to stay strong and have hope, but it's hard. I wish I could talk to you, even for a second and get your opinion. I have to make all the decisions and if I make the wrong ones we could end up with something worse. What am I supposed to do?" I asked her. I sat unmoving for a while. I heard as the others arrived and I heard when Abel told them I needed a moment. I was going to lose something and I didn't know how to stop it. I took her hand in mine and tried to enter her mind as I had for the last few months, but nothing happened. "Please love, if you can send me any signs, please sends me one. I have to know that you can hear me, that you know that I haven't gone anywhere." I told her. I don't know what I expected, it hadn't happened yet. I let a tear drop from my eye and then Edward appeared next to me.

"She can hear you." He told me, looking intensely. "She can't hold it for too long, but she says she hears you and she loves you and she trusts you to make the right choices. She has faith in you Klaus." He told me.

"You can hear her?!" I shouted.

"She's shouting it's a little hard to not hear her." He smiled. "She knows that it's going to be hard, but she wants you to know, that she trusts you." He told me again. I took her hand in mine.

"We will get our happy ending sweetheart, I promise." I told her.

"She loves you." His face saddened suddenly. "She's gone." He told me. "She broke through for a minute though, it couldn't have been easy." He told me. He patted my back. "She must love you immensely." He said.

"And I her." I told him. I decided in that moment that I didn't want her to suffer for that long. I was going to dagger her and keep her safe, no matter what. I went to the others in the living room. Abel had explained what they had missed. Edward didn't have an opinion about it, but Davina and Kol did.

"She can fight it." Davina told me.

"I don't want her to be alone for that long, Davina. I don't want her to suffer." I told her. She looked at me with anger, but the hate was gone from her eyes. "When she is daggered she won't feel anything. It will be like she's asleep but she doesn't know it." I explained to her.

"Why are you even explaining it to us, if you're going to do it anyway?" Kol asked.

"I need you two to help me with the next part." I admitted.

"What's the next part?" Kol asked.

"We have enemies; we have a lot of enemies. We have to put her somewhere safe, like they did for Esther for a thousand years. And I need you both to take her somewhere that I don't know. Keep her safe, until we can wake her up."

"You want us to take her from you?" Davina asked.

"If it keeps her safe." I told them.


	29. Chapter 29

Klaus' POV Ch. 29:

In the years that followed too many things happened. My family remained separated. Elijah still did not have his memory back. The hollow was gone and his mind remained blank. Fraya kept an eye out for him, but he remained alone and without his family. Rebekah and Marcel decided to settle in a small village in France. They plan to marry, I assume. I don't know where Kol and Davina are, as promised to me so many years ago. I hear from them few times, magically. I know they are keeping her safe from our many enemies, who have tried to attack us while separated and lost many in the process. Hope has grown into a beautiful young lady. Her magic grows with her and she remains at school in Mystic Falls. Most of my days are spent with her. I decided not to tell her about what I will need from her soon. Hailey and I discuss it at length often. She knows what I'm asking and if I thought it would harm our daughter I would not ask her, but she is still so new to this life. We will leave the decision to her and I will respect it whatever it may be. I worry about her magic, but Hailey assures me that she is in control of her powers. Our enemies have nearly been decimated except for the Volturi. Something I'd never expected has occurred. Annette tried to find Adrienne, but found me instead and I ended her life without haste. What I did not count on was her mate coming for me. Felix abandoned the Volturi and came to act out his own revenge. These vampires mated for life and without her, he lost the will to live, but not without vengeance. When he came for me I was unprepared and nearly lost my fight, as he had a white oak stake in hand. When I ended his life and burned his remains others came for me, but I fought them still. It had been a grueling nine years. I tried not to think of her often as it brought on a new sense of pain, but my dreams were my own paradise. In my mind we were together and the darkness from our past was gone. We lived and were happy.

"It will happen." Edward told me. Today I was here visiting them in Alaska. In the time that past Edward and Bella married and had a daughter. Nessie was a special child born half human, half vampire. She was gifted like her father and grew into a young woman in only seven years. "It's almost time. When Hope is eighteen, she will have the power needed." He told me.

"If she'll do it. I don't want to make her feel like she has to." I told him.

"But she loves you and she will do it for you." He told me. "Now come on let's celebrate." He said grimly. Edwards's daughter was engaged to a wolf. I didn't know how he actually felt about that, but we were here to celebrate their engagement. He rolled his eyes and I smiled. Inside everyone was gathered. Jacob and Nessie were cuddled in the corner taking a million pictures.

"Congratulations." I told Jacob who shook my hand without hesitation.

"Thanks man." He turned to Edward and smiled widely. "Can I start calling you dad?" He asked and everyone laughed. Edward rolled his eyes again and smiled back. Bella, who was now immortal, came by his side and took his hand.

"Real funny Jake." She said. Nessie came to them and hugged them both. "As long as you're happy." She said to her. The party continued and by the end Jacob had fallen asleep. Nessie, Alice, and Esme spoke about wedding plans. It was supposed to be a simply grand affair, but the engagement would be long.

"How many people will you bring?" Nessie asked me.

"Am I invited?" I asked her. Alice and Esme smiled.

"Of course!" She told me. "Maybe by the time we have everything ready for the wedding my Aunt Adrienne will be here and I could finally meet her." She told me with innocence in her eyes. I smiled at her.

"I hope that's true." I told her.

"And Hope of course!" She told me excited.

"I'm sure she'd love to be there." I explained. Nessie bounced around again was chatting with everyone. Edward excused himself with Bella early and I was left alone to sleep. Tomorrow I was headed back to Mystic Falls to speak with Hope and my mind was erratic with thoughts. I slept that night and my delusion continued. She appeared to me in the compound of New Orleans. We sat on the roof and looked up at the stars. I held her close and let my imagination run wild with details of her being. The smell of her hair was potent and her soft touch was enchanting.

"What's on your mind tonight my love?" She asked me in whispers.

"I wonder if I have finally lost my mind." I told her and she laughed.

"Well bringing conjuring me in your mind is not crazy. If you saw me in your every waking state, then perhaps." She laughed. "If it brings you comfort in our time apart, what's the harm?" She finally told me seriously.

"I have to ask Hope soon." I told her. She grew still. "I have to ask my daughter to bring you back to me."

"And what do you think she will say?" She asked me.

"I think that my daughter loves me and I hope she says yes, but she's become her own woman, and may not want to risk it." I told her.

"If she doesn't than you can either find another way or let me go." She told me. She turned towards me and looked calmly into my eyes. "I don't want you to be unhappy, but if there is no way to raise me, without bringing out the hollow, than I would rather remain daggered." She told me.

"But you're not real." I explained. "You are a figment of my imagination love." I stroked her face. "I can't know that it is how you actually feel." I told her. "I made you a promise." I told her again.

"I may not be real, but you know me, the real me, enough to know what I would want. Sacrifice is a normal part of my world." She explained.

"And you have no idea how much that pains me. Have you not lost enough from your life?" I asked her.

"I remain." She said.

"You've lost your family, both birth and adopted. You've lost your coven, and practically everyone along the way. We finally have a chance to be together and live our lives, I made you a promise. I have to give you a chance at life, a happy life, full and complete." I told her. She looked at me teary eyed.

"Don't you know that just seeing you again has brought me eternal happiness? Everyday I've gotten is a gift my love." She told me. "If all we got to have were a few months, than I would thank the heavens and be grateful." She said.

"But don't you want to live. Don't you want to be here and know what it's like to live without the loneliness? I don't think you've ever gotten a chance to live the way you were meant to. I owe you that; I owe you true happiness in your life." I told her. She looked at me again, without moving. She turned and looked towards the sky and then back to me.

"It's time to wake up now. I will see you again soon love." She smiled at the sound of my phone ringing. My eyes fluttered open and I sat up in the oversized bed in the Cullens Alaskan home. I got ready for my day and when I came downstairs, only Edward and Bella remained there.

"Where is everyone?" I asked them.

"They went hunting early." Edward said.

"Well I'm heading out now. Thank you so much for inviting me." Bella smiled and came over to hug me.

"Thank you for being a part of her day." She told me and stepped back towards Edward. He came to me and shook my hand.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." He told me. "It will be fine." He said. I smiled and took my bags to my rental car. When I left I still felt uneasy. I thought about what I would say to her and hoped that she would understand my plea. I dreaded having to ask her for this, but she was the only one. I had verified Elly's vision with every psychic all around the world. Once I was in the air, I was nervous, counting down the seconds before I had to ask my daughter to do this extraordinary task. When I arrived no one waited to greet me. My car was in the parking lot as I frequented the airport. It took me one hour as I took my time to get into Hailey's new home. They no longer lived at the boarding house; instead they lived in a modest house on the outskirts of town. When I pulled up, Hope ran out. I took her in my arms and swung her around. She laughed. As I put her down I reached for my bag in the backseat and handed her a big box. She carried it to the stairs of the porch and opened it.

"Happy Birthday Princess." I told her. She opened the box and started to pull out new canvases and brushes I'd brought back from my travels. The Paints were unique as I'd made the colors myself.

"Wow Dad these are great. Thank you!" she hugged me again.

"There's one more." I told her, pulling out a long box. She stared at it and then at me. "This has been in my possession for almost 900 years. It belonged to some queen." I laughed. "It is said to protect you against anyone who may wish you harm." I told her snapping the box open. She stared at the locket and ran her fingers over the engravings. I pulled it out as her smile brightened.

"It's beautiful." She told me and I snapped it into place around her neck.

"That's why it belongs to you." I told her, grabbing the box and bringing it inside. "Are you excited to be an adult?" I asked her.

"I'm excited to be another year older." She told me. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to go at it on my own." She smiled. My little girl always knew what to say to make me feel useful.

"I don't know about on your own, but you've grown up into a beautiful young lady."

"Thanks Dad." She told me.

"What are the plans for tonight?" She started unpacking her new art supplies and setting them up beside her bedroom balcony.

"Mom wants to throw a party with the kids from school, but I'd rather have a low key affair with my friends." She told me.

"Whatever you'd like sweetheart." I told her. "How is school? This is your last year." I told her. She looked at her hands as she sat down next to me.

"I'm not sure how I feel about school right now." She said. I looked at her concerned. "Imagine I've been on training wheels my whole life and now they just want to rip them off and let me go at it alone." She said. "I'm scared I'm not ready." She told me, which only made me feel guiltier.

"I know that you are powerful sweetheart, but you are also Mikaelson strong and Lebonair Strong. That makes the difference. That is how you will always be in control, but you must believe it." I told her and she smiled up at me.

"I missed you Daddy." She told me. We spent the afternoon together until she left me to get ready for tonight. Hayley came to me and we sat up talking as we walked through the forest.

"So did you ask her?" She asked me. I shook my head. "Why not?"

"She's afraid that she is not in control." I told her. "I can't add to her worries and put pressure on her." I told her. She stared at me in awe.

"You've come a long way Mikaelson." She told me and smiled. "If you want my opinion, I think you should ask her. Maybe it's what she needs to bring up her confidence in herself." She told me.

"It's not selfish?" I asked her and she stopped short.

"Of course not!" She told me. "The old Klaus would have forced whoever to do what he wanted. The new and better Klaus is only asking his daughter for a favor, if she says no, then we try to find another way." She told me. "Whatever it takes." She took my hand and we continued walking. Our relationship has come a long way. We walked back to her home and began wrapping decorations around the porch. Tonight we used twinkle lights and hung custom banners. As we gathered for her, other familiar faces arrived. Caroline, Rick and their daughters. Jeremy was also in attendance as well as a boy my daughter introduced as Cain on a prior visit. As she came outside we all yelled happy birthday! And the music flowed. Conversations began and the twins danced. Hayley stood up on the porch rail and tapped her beer bottle against a fork. We all silenced.

"Get up here Klaus!" She yelled to me. I appeared beside her. "We are celebrating our baby girls 18th birthday. Hope we are extremely lucky to be your parents." I nodded along as my daughter smiled at us. "We couldn't be more proud of the woman you've become." She said. She looked up at me.

"There is no one in this world we love more." I smiled. "To Hope!" I raised my glass and the others followed.

"And to prove how much you mean to us all, you have a few more people who'd like to say Happy Birthday!" Hayley said. From around the forest stepped out Rebekah, Kol, and Fraya. Marcel and Keelin came in behind them and Hope ran to them all. I looked at Hayley and hugged her too. "Always and forever." She whispered. "Now go!" She said and I jumped down and into their waiting arms.

"How are you here right now?" I asked Kol, in whispers. He smiled.

"Relax Davina's got it." He told me. I nodded. "Have you asked her?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"Later." I told him and he closed his mouth and handed Hope more jewelry. The party flowed and those who were once mortal enemies now laughed and spoke to one another. The miracle was that it was all Hope. They loved her so much that they would put up with just about anyone to make her happy. I did the same. As the party wind down and some called it a night, we sat down talking about our lives and memories. Kol and Marcel finally had no animosity between them, and Hayley just smiled at us all. I knew she missed Elijah, and with Hope growing up so quickly, I knew she must think more and more of finding him. All in all the night was a success. It was not the grand bash I had imagined, but it was right. Only the people who truly cared for her were here. We let the night come to a close and the others began leaving. All that remained were Hayley, myself, Hope, Kol, and Rebekah. Marcel had left to go make a call. Hayley nudged me while Hope whispered to Rebekah.

"Did you enjoy your birthday baby?" Hayley asked her. She turned towards us and smiled.

"It was great." She said.

"Good. You're all grown up now. You're stronger now, and you have to stay on the path that you think is right." She told her. Hope nodded. "I think you're ready to take on the world baby." She told her and Hope smiled.

"Thanks mom." She said.

"Speaking of." Kol began. "There is something we didn't want to burden you with, until you were ready."

"And we believe that you are now ready." Rebekah spoke and they both turned to me. Hope looked at her mom and then at me.

"What's going Dad? What am I ready for?" She asked me.

"It's not something that you have to do. It's merely a question that I have to ask you, more like a favor." I told her nervously. She continued to stare at me. "You know that Adrienne is trapped within her mind, and that we are waiting for the right witch to free her." I told her and she nodded. "You are the right witch sweetheart." She smiled. "If you do not want to risk it, I understand. I don't want you to feel pressured or anything. If you say no, it's no. No one will be disappointed or angry." It all came out too fast. The others smiled at me and Hope laughed.

"Would you calm down?" She laughed. "Of course I'll do it." She told me and I went to her and hugged her. "I just want you to be happy Dad." She whispered.

"Thank you Hope." I told her. The others took their turns hugging her and her mom pulled her away and whispered to her words of encouragement. I looked at Kol and he pulled out his phone.

"When should we do this?" She asked us.

"First I will teach you the spell and adjust where you feel." Kol said. "Davina and I have spent the better part of a decade honing in on the right spell." He told her. Kol went to his bag and pulled out a grand book. He flipped through its pages. "These are different variations." He began showing her and she dove right in. Rebekah after putting away her phone came to stand by me and held my hand.

"Do you see what you've been worried about?" She asked me. "You have the most amazing daughter that wants to help you." She smiled.

"I'm lucky." I told her. Hope was more powerful than I imagined. When given the challenge of Kol's unlinking spell it took her less than ten minutes to master it. She was strong and she could conjure what she'd like to at will. We watched her practice while Kol made arrangements with Davina. God willing Adrienne would be awake in the following night. My nerves were excited and in motion. I went to sleep with hopes of laying my head down tomorrow night with her and never letting her go.


	30. Chapter 30

Final Chapter; Klaus' POV

As the preparations came together, I waited anxiously unable to sleep. I tried to see my delusion to calm me, but it was nearly impossible to sleep. I was too excited and nervous to sleep. I thought about how much Hope was giving me, and how I didn't deserve to have her. She was far greater than any of us have ever been. My family was gathered; all coming together to bring back someone they knew meant the world to me. I called Edward and informed him about what was happening and he, Bella, Nessie, and Jacob were to be here soon. Alice and Jasper wouldn't make it for tonight, but they were also on their way. It would be joyous if she were to wake up and find all her family waiting for her. Edward told me he would contact Abel to let him know if we were successful. The day passed in a blur and while Hope prepared alone in her room, Davina arrived. She had cast a spell on herself to remain in the age that she was, until Adrienne was awakened. I hugged her when she approached me, and a warm smile filled her face.

"Thank you for keeping her safe all these years, I'll owe you for a lifetime." I whispered to her.

"You owe me nothing, I was happy to help my family." She told me lifting her finger and showing me the colossal wedding ring on her ring finger.

"You two got married?!" I shouted and smiled. Kol appeared next to her and smiled revealing the wedding band on his finger.

"About a year after we parted ways." He told me.

"We wanted you all there, but since that was impossible, we decided we'd celebrate when we were all together." She told us. Rebekah and Fraya stood close by and smiled after looking at Kol's smile. We all hugged.

"Congratulations you two." Fraya said.

"Welcome to the family Davina, we needed more girls anyway!" Rebakah told her laughing. Hope came outside and hugged Davina. The two had not seen each other since Hope was a child.

"I'm ready." She informed us. "I need to channel our lineage." She said. I looked at me.

"A place where great witchcraft from our family occurred. Either where Grandma Esther created you or where she cursed you." I shivered. Kol nodded.

"I can lead the way." Kol suggested, when he headed to the SUV in the lot, I saw her coffin there. I opened the back and placed one hand on it. Soon, I thought to her. Soon we will be together again. I rode with them while the other's followed in their vehicles. We arrived in the empty lot outside of town. It was not far from where Hayley lived and was right in between where mother had turned us into vampires and where mother placed the hybrid curse on me. As we walked outside the car Davina opened the back and placed her locket onto the coffin, unlocking it. Hope and Fraya walked directly to the middle and began their preparations. The sun was down and the moon had not yet reached its apex. While they spelled certain objects and prepared the earth, I walked to the back of the car and opened the casket. Her head was facing me and I stroked her cheek.

"You're almost back, it's almost time." I told her.

"She loves you so much you know." Davina told me. "She used to tell me about your relationship. She called you the greatest love she'd ever known." She said.

"Thank you for that." I told her.

"Thank you for trusting me with her safety. You're not the same Klaus from all those years ago." She told me.

"And you are certainly not the same Harvest girl, you used to be." I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"We're ready!" Hope called out. I lifted Adrienne into my arm and set her down where hope pointed to. I kissed her forehead and stepped away. We made a circle and watched as Hope began to take Adrienne's hand and chant.

"Sanguinem domus invocabo." She called out. Kol looked around.

"Take the blade and cut your palms, let them drip onto the ground." He told my siblings and me. Rebekah, Kol, and I let our blood fall, while Marcel, Davina, Fraya, and Keelin went more subtle by pricking their fingers and letting it fall onto the ground in front of them.

"Solvere hanc solvere hoc intelligendum." Hope continued. "Sanguinem domus invocabo. Solvere hanc solvere hoc intelligendum" Adrienne's body began to levitate and we all watched it astounded. Hope continued to hold her hand, only now it was above her head. My daughter continued to chant, until finally I saw it happen. Adrienne's body lowered and below her, our blood had gathered. It mixed and settled in a perfect circle around her, until her body fell back to the earth and it spattered into the forest, marking the trees. Hope breathed in a deep breath and let go of Adrienne's hand, only then did I see that she had cut her own palm and Adrienne's. She reached for the dagger and pulled it from her chest and took hold of her other hand. "Evigilare faciatis." She whispered in her ear and to my utter astonishment, Adrienne opened her eyes and took in a deep breath while sitting up. She looked around and Hope smiled at her, looking at ease. Adrienne watched her. "It's nice to finally meet you Adrienne." She told her, and Adrienne hugged her tightly.

"It's great to finally meet you Hope, Thank you so much for what you've done." She told her. As they both stood, we lingered in the circle, when Adrienne's eyes fell on each of us, her smile grew. I closed the gap as her eyes met mine. Took my daughter's hand and squeezed it and then took Adrienne and kissed her. I let me kiss show her how I'd missed her and then she hugged me. "Niklaus." She whispered. Our reunion was short, but sweet. The others were eager to see her as well. Rebekah even hugged Adrienne to our surprise and Fraya greeted her warmly and introduced her wife. I introduced Hayley and the two laughed and smiled. Anyone looking upon us now, could see that we were happy, it was clear. I was finally complete. I had love in my life once more and I had my family, and I had the love and respect, I'd always wanted from my daughter. My life was great again. We headed back to Hayley's house. Hand in hand. Davina and Kol shared their news and to our surprise Edward and his family waited there for us. Hope ran to them and Nessie squealed about her engagement for a moment. Adrienne went to Edward and embraced him. Bella smiled and when it was her turn they hugged as well.

"Immortality suits you." Adrienne told her and Bella smiled. "And a daughter, I'm so happy for you all." Nessie and Jacob came to stand by her and were introduced. "Renessmee, it's nice to meet you." She told her, but Nessie wasn't about being formal.

"I have heard so much about you Aunt Adrienne." She told her. "This is my Fiancé Jacob." She introduced them and Jake shook her hand and smiled.

"Aunt Adrienne, I like the sound of that." They laughed. A tear fell from Adrienne's eye and we all stopped and looked at her. "Don't worry about me, these are happy tears. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my entire life, surrounded by all the people I love." She told us.

"This is just the beginning love." I told her.

"Always and forever?" She asked.

"Always and forever." I said and everyone smiled and laughed once again.


End file.
